My Name is Carter
by Robotics Fangirl
Summary: 15 year old Carter is many things; athletic, sarcastic,clumsy... but could it be true that she's the child of a spy and a super soldier? Soon, Carter is thrust into the world of superheroes, spies, and double agents. With all the craziness going on, Carter knows only one thing is for certain; she will never be the same again.
1. Prologue

**Author's note:**

 **Hi guys! I am honestly super excited to post this! Not only is this my first published fanfiction, but it also revolves around my only Marvel OTP. This story might start out a bit slow, but I promise the chapters with get longer and more interesting as we go along.**

 **Also, remember that reviews are motivation; I'd love to hear from you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters are property of Marvel, except for my OC Carter.**

* * *

The sound of crying snapped Natasha out of her thoughts.

She looked down at the little bundle in her arms, only a few weeks old. Natasha started swaying back and forth, trying to quiet the young babe before it brought unwanted attention to her.

 _If_ _anyone_ _recognizes_ _me_ … Natasha shook that thought out of her head. This was such a tiny backwater town in Canada, Natasha would be surprised if there was even a way to access internet here. Not only that, but with such terrible weather no one was outside in the streets anyways. The chances of someone spotting her as Black Widow were slim to none, and the headscarf and contact lenses she wore was added precaution. She'd doubt even her fellow Avengers would be able to spot her.

 _The Avengers._ If Natasha was used to showing emotion, she would have probably had tears in her eyes. She hadn't contacted anyone in over 4 years except for Steve; not even Clint. It was safer that way.

Now she wouldn't even see Steve again. They decided it would be safer to go separate ways, not only for the little one, but for Steve and Natasha too. A choice had to be made, and since love was always the riskiest choice of all, love lost this time.

Natasha chuckled to herself. How stupid she was to think love was a fairytale. How stupid she was to think she could avoid its grasp.

Now love was probably laughing its ass off at the irony. _Ah yes. The foolish girl who didn't believe in love found it, and now we're destroying it._

Natasha looked at her child, who was now sleeping peacefully in her arms. Love may be lost, but it wasn't destroyed. It was hidden in the child.

Natasha's thoughts kept going like this until she reached the front steps her destination. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the steps and knocked on the door. A few moments later, a young woman who looked to be in her 30s answered.

"Weather's lovely today, isn't it?" Natasha spoke slowly, praying she deciphered the message correctly.

The woman smiled. "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella." She stepped aside, letting Natasha in from the foggy outdoors. After Natasha was inside, the woman shut the door swiftly and went to close the living room blinds. When she came back to Natasha she smiled sadly. "I can never be too careful. I am almost certain they don't track me anymore, but better safe than sorry." The woman paused. "I am hate to rush you, but I think it would be in the child's best interest if you leave as soon as possible. It will be for the best."

Natasha nodded, tears forming in her eyes. Natasha can't remember the last time she cried; years and years ago in the red room, probably, but she was crying now, knowing her time with her child is up. Kissing the baby girl's head, she handed her to the woman.

"Her name is Carter." Whispered Natasha. Without another word, Natasha left her daughter, hoping for the little bay's sake Carter never see her mother again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: The Lighthouse in this tor is a real place where I've been countless times. You can look up Yarmouth Cape Forchu on Google if you would like to get a visual. (you can see the huge cliffs of rocks that are mentioned in this story).**

 **R &R, my friends.**

* * *

15 years later

So this is how it ends. Fighting for a country that I don't even care about, trying to impress the parents that I never even knew. Look where that got me. Trapped under a pile of rubble.

A pretty shitty way to die if you ask me.

Apparently since I have some super serum shit in me I can survive for longer than a normal person. Since there's clearly no way to get out of this, it just means I suffer longer. What a blessing.

Is that people calling my name? if they are looking for me, why is it sounding farther and farther away from the collapsed building?

Why am I narrating my death? Is this a side affect from the concussion I received about an hour ago? I don't know, and I don't care. Might as well pretend someone who's still alive out there cares about me.

If you're wondering, my name's Carter. Just Carter.

And this is how my life went from boring to dying pretty fucking fast.

* * *

1 month prior

 _Beep beep beep_

I opened my eyes reluctantly. If there was one thing I hated, it was waking up early for school. At least it was Friday.

 _Beep beep beep._ I slammed my hand down on the top of my bedside alarm clock, hoping to stop that terrible noise. Unfortunately, I missed my desk entirely and hit thin air, causing me to tumble out of bed and onto the floor. Groaning, I stood up, rubbing my behind. Definingly bruised my tailbone (again).

 _Beep beep beep beep._ It was still going off. Fed up, I ripped the cord out of the bedside outlet.

The beeping ceased. I smiled to myself, feeling like I had just won a battle with my alarm. Setting the cord back down, I walked downstairs to get breakfast.

"Good morning mom." I said, yawning. My mother didn't even look up from the newspaper she was reading.

I went to grab a bowl of cereal. "Are you heading out to the plant today?" I asked, pouring myself a bowl of cheerios.

She flipped a page of _The Vanguard._ "I haven't decided yet. Are you planning to go after school? I could drive you but you might be tired after your school trip, though."

I groaned, suddenly remembering about today's plans. My Science class was going on a trip to my town's lighthouse today, to study the different stages of Primary succession. Going to the lighthouse itself wouldn't have been bad; it's just that I hated my science class. Spending 70 minutes with them a day was bad enough, but an entire day? (Okay, so maybe I was being over dramatic. I would give anything to be dealing with bullies instead of living this screwed up life now.)

"I wish I could've been sick." I grumbled, taking a bite of my cereal.

My mom just chuckled. "Carter Boudreau, you haven't been sick since you were three, why would you want to end that streak today?"

I didn't answer. Truthfully, I was very grateful. But it didn't mean I didn't envy those lucky souls who were sick on test days.

After finishing my cereal and rinsing out my bowl, I went back up to my room to get dressed. I put on my usual attire (a red and black plaid shirt, jeans, and a black zip-up sweater) and ran back downstairs before I was late for school. Bidding my Mom a rushed goodbye, I went to the barn to grab my bike. It was unusually sunny this morning; most of the time the fog doesn't roll out until around 9 A.M. Putting my helmet on my head (safety first, especially when you're as clumsy as me) I wheeled my bike out of the barn and road down Water Street towards the school.

By some miracle, I made it to school 10 minutes early. Even though the people at Y.M.C.H.S were assholes, the school itself wasn't half bad. The classes were easy, and the teachers nice enough. Locking my bike to the rack, I went to dump my schoolbag at my locker before I had to meet my class on the football field.

When I made it to my class' designated meeting spot, about 9 people were already there. Walking to sit under a tree near the edge of the field, I plopped my lunch bag on the ground beside me and sat down on the damp grass. I opened the latest novel I was reading as I waited for my friend to get there. About 10 minutes later, someone sat beside me. Looking up, I smiled. It was my friend Brook.

"You have any food?" she started digging through my lunch bag, looking for something to eat. She pulled out an apple and took a bite.

"You could've at least said hello." I mumbled under my breath.

"Hello." She took another bite and finished chewing before she went on. "You excited for the trip?"

"What do you think? Matt and Ocean are in our class."

Matt and Ocean were those stereotypical teenagers that every school has. They pick on your insecurities to make you feel small. For some reason, I was one of their favourite targets.

Brook was about to say something back but just then the teacher Ms. Harris showed up.

"Attention everyone! I'm going to take attendance, and then we're going to walk to the bus at the front of the school. Any questions?" No one answered. "Good."

After she took attendance, we started walking towards the front of the school.

"Hey Carter, do you ever have that feeling that something life changing is going to happen? Like life is never going to be the same after today?" Brook was one of those people who believed in spirits and stuff, and that everything's "part of a plan."

"No, why? Is it a good feeling?" I decided to humour her.

She frowned. "I'm not sure. It's just different." With that thought we got on the bus.

* * *

The trip actually wasn't that bad. For the first hour we learned about the lighthouse's history in the museum, and hen my teacher put us in groups to finish a work sheets. My group finished fairly quick and soon, it was lunchtime.

"Okay students. After you finish eating you can wander around on your own." My teacher looked at her watch. "I want us all to meet back here in 45 minutes. Remember, even though it's a beautiful sunny day, these cliffs are still deadly. Don't go on the rocks unless you want to take it up with the principal."

After that everyone went off to do their own thing. Brook and I went to sit on the infamous "Giant Yellow Chair" to eat our lunches. Brook talked, and I listened while reading my book until I heard a voice from behind me.

"Well, if it isn't the loners who have no friends but each other." Ocean's high pitch voice teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Well if it isn't the girl who doesn't even have any friends except her shitty twin brother." I mimicked in her squealy voice, not even looking up from my book.

"Well at least I actually have a brother. You just have that disabled mom who can barely walk."

I sighed and looked at her. "Ocean, if you haven't notice, I don't like to waste my time talking to those lower than me. That includes you." I jumped off the chair. "C'mon Brook." We walked away from Ocean, who was still shouting insults at my back.

"At least my dad didn't leave my mom behind as soon as soon as he found out she was pregnant! He must've known what a disappointment you'd turn out to be! Your mom doesn't want you to feel bad, so she won't even tell you his name!"

I clenched my fist but kept walking away from her and towards the tidepools at the bottom of the lighthouse. I was used to this. People throwing insults at my mom, and people making fun of me for my father leaving. I found out pretty quick that people get more pissed if you don't retaliate.

"What a bitch." Muttered Brook under her breath. "At least your mom isn't a reporter for the tabloids."

I was about to say something else when I heard a scream. I looked around to see where it came from, finally spotting a woman and man on the edge of the rocks _. It must be tourists._ Only they would be stupid enough to go on the cliffs. They may not look slippery, but thee are more than a few graves on the stretch of land the lighthouse is on.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. Clearly someone had fallen in. Ignoring our teacher's warning, Brook and I ran towards the couple.

The woman was in hysterics when we got there. "My son… he slipped… help him!" she looked about ready to jump in if her husband wasn't holding her back.

"I'll go get help!" Brook ran towards the museum, hoping to get help. I timidly went closer to the edge, trying to see who had fallen. In a few seconds I spotted a mop of brown hair bobbing in the waves.

"Lay on your back!" I instructed him.

"I… can't! There's too many waves!" he shouted back. The kid couldn't be older than 11.

"What's going on here?" I looked behind me to see my teacher with about half my class.

"Our child fell in! He can swim but the water is freezing! Those waves are slamming him against rocks, he won't be able to swim for long."

"Foolish tourists! Don't you obey the warnings!?" Yelled a student in my class.

"It didn't look dangerous!" argued the father. During their fighting, I kept my eyes on the boy. I was surprised he lasted this long. Where is Brook with help? I wondered.

All of a sudden, the boy went under, my heart stopped.

He didn't come back up. "William!" screamed the mother. At that moment, I made up my mind. I ran to the edge of the cliffs. Without stopping, I dove into the deadly waters.

Stupid? Idiotic? Yes, but I knew without help that child would die.

* * *

The water shocked my system the instant I touched it. I remember reading somewhere that this cold water can cause hypothermia in a matter of minutes.

I opened my eyes, the salt water stinging my eyes. It was so dark, I could barely see anything. If the kid had fallen any deeper than the sunlight could reach…

Wait! What was that flash that I saw out of the corner of my eye? I turned my head to see a small mass sinking towards the darkness of the sea. Quickly, I swam to it, the closer I got the more certain I was that this was the boy. I grabbed him and quickly swam towards the top of the water. Finally, I broke the surface, gasping for air. I looked at the boy in my arms, relieved to see he was conscious. I treaded water with one arm, trying to keep not only me but the boy afloat.

I heard people calling my name. I tried to call out, but at that moment a wave hurtled me towards the rocks. I curled into a ball to try to shield the boy. My back slammed into the rocks, sending pain throughout my body. We went under, but I quickly resurfaced.

The boy looked confused and started mumbling under his breath. I knew those were signs of hypothermia. We had to get out of this water before it got any wore.

Another wave sent us towards the rocks, and this time I didn't get away without injury. I felt red hot pain shoot through my leg. Must've scraped it on something.

It felt like I was treading water for hours, but couldn't have been for more than 10 minutes. I knew I couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Finally, something orange and white landed in front of me, splashing salt water on my face. "Grab on!" I heard someone shout. You didn't need to tell me twice. Swimming towards the lifering buoy with one arm proved to be a challenge (I had to fight the waves to keep us afloat) but I managed. I can't even express how relieved I was when I grabbed the coloured ring. I put the boy inside of it and I hung off the side. "We're on!" I yelled. "Pull up!"

When we finally made it onto dry land, I laid on my back, gasping for breath. I looked up at the clear blue sky. What the hell was I thinking, risking my life for a random child? No one in their right mind would do that, except maybe an Avenger.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by someone yanking me to my feet by my arm. Hard.

"What were you thinking?!" I looked up at my angry teacher's face. "What did I say? You not only disobeyed my rule of going on the rocks, but you purposely jumped into the water! You'll be lucky if you aren't expelled, Carter!"

I stared at her in disbelief. "Are you saying I shouldn't have saved that child, Mrs. Harris? I should have let the child die?"

"You could've died, Carter! I—"She stopped talking when a paramedic came up to us.

"Excuse me, but we need to check your student over at the Health Center. It would be ideal if we went right now. If she doesn't already have hypothermia, she will certainly get it standing here."

Mrs. Harris nodded.

"Come with me." I tried to take a step but when I did my leg exploded in pain. I looked down to see my left leg of my jeans stained red with blood. I suddenly felt dizzy at the sight of it.

"Sit down, we'll get a gurney over here." The paramedic talked into his walkie talkie. He started wrapping my leg in bandages.

"You'll definitely need stiches for your leg. Must've sliced it against the rock."

I nodded as they loaded me onto the gurney. Then we were on our way to the hospital.

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur.

When we got to the hospital I remember there being reporters wanting to talk to us, but the doctors ushered them out. I also remember I didn't end up needing stitches in my leg, and apparently that was a big deal, but I'm just a naturally fast healer. I don't know why they were acting so shocked. I wanted to leave before they even started the x-rays and stuff to make sure I was 100% okay, but after that I was free to go with a clean bill of health.

When I walked out of the hospital room my mom was waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she ran up and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"What the hell were you thinking, Carter?" She asked me.

"I was thinking that boy needed help." I said back.

She ended the hug but kept her hands on my shoulders and bent over so she could look me in the eye. "I should be mad but I'm just relieved. You remind me so much of your parents."

I frowned. "Parents?" I repeated, confused.

My mother laughed nervously. "Sorry, did I say parents? I meant your parent, as in your father." She said quickly. Something seemed off. My mother seemed nervous, as if she was embarrassed about something she said. I learned long ago not to question her when she brought up my dad; the only detail she ever said about him was that I had his eyes.

I might've asked about him if a nurse didn't come up to us. "Excuse me, but are you Carter's mom? I need you to sign these forms of release before she's allowed to go." My mom looked at me. "Stay here for a moment. I'll be right back." She kissed the top of my head then went with the nurse.

While she went over to the front desk I heard a voice from behind me. "Are you Miss Boudreau?" I turned to see a news anchor from our towns radio station. "Do you mind if we ask just one question?"

I nodded. "I don't see why not."

She cleared her throat and read off a piece of paper in her hand. "You are a hero, Carter. You did what many would see as a suicide mission. What do you say to that?"

"I don't understand why everyone is calling me a hero. I knew I could have the kid, so I did. There's nothing special about that." I responded.

The woman wrote something down. "Thank you. Have a good day." With that she left. I turned around only to see my mother giving me a worried look. "Why were you talking to her?" She asked me.

I shrugged. "She just wanted to ask some questions." I looked to see the bag my mother was holding. "What's that?"

"Your clothes." She answered simply. She was looking around wildly, as if expecting someone to start shooting at any moment.

"Are you okay?" I questioned. She was starting to freak me out.

She still wouldn't look me in the eye. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." I followed her to the car, wondering what had her so shaken. I decided not to ask. Every so often I heard her mumble things along the lines of "you might've got us killed, Shannon," or "You idiot. You should've gone somewhere more remote, like Nunavut." Truthfully, I was too scared to ask what she was talking about. She did this sometimes for reasons I never understood. I used to think it was because of the accident she had before I was born.

When we got home she made soup for supper. It was odd; whenever I tried to talk to her she just mumbled an answer. Eventually I got fed up and went to my bedroom.

Since I had no clue where my book went, (it was still at the lighthouse for all I know) I decided to just play around on my laptop. I got it off my desk and brought it over to my bed.

About an hour and a half later I heard a knock at my door. "Can I come in?" I heard my mother ask. I nodded and closed my laptop, looking at her. She came to sit beside me on my bed. Before talking she took a deep breath.

"You know I love you very much, Carter." She said carefully, looking down at her hands in her lap. "And you know that I would do anything in my power to protect you. Unfortunately, I can't always protect you, and that's what scares me."

Was she talking about today? Must be. I could've _died,_ after all.

She sighed. "Carter, I want you to know that if something ever happens, you can't ever give up. No matter how hopeless it seems, there's always a way out of everything." She looked me in the eye. "You remember when I told you about what happened in New York almost 20 years ago, don't you?" I nodded. The government was so scared of the aliens that they fired a missile at New York. Everyone thought there was no ay out of it, until Iron Man saved the day.

"You see, Carter, most people gave up. When things get rough, don't be like the government, who thought the best way out was death; be like Stark, who did what was best, even if it seemed impossible at the time."

I snorted. "You want me to act like the billionaire drunk who drinks his sorrows away?"

I swear to God I heard my mother mutter, "he's actually a very nice man", but that must have just been my imagination.

She chuckled. "What I'm saying Carter, is that you can never give up. I don't care how hopeless it seems, if you give up, you're weak, and I know that's not true." She kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight Carter. Go to bed now. You still have soccer in the morning." With that my mother went to turn the light off.

"Love you, mom." I said to her.

"Love you too, sweetie." She answered.

If I had known that was my last time having a regular conversation with her, I would've said more. Alas, you can't change the past.

* * *

What did I say about calling me on weekends?" Colonel Walters asked angrily. The one time he got away from work, and work still bothered him.

"Sir, this is of utmost importance. We think- "

"What could be so important? Are aliens attacking, you found Captain America? If it' not either of those things you're fired. So, I recommend—"

"We think we found the child." The agent quickly cut in. the other end of the line went silent for a few moments.

"Are you positive? We stopped looking for the child years ago, after the information was found to be false."

"Apparently not. She's in Canada, a small town in Nova Scotia called Yarmouth."

The Colonel was confused. "The Black Widow can't get pregnant, agent. We went through her old S.H.I.E.L.D file. She was sterilized while she was still living in Russia."

"I will send you the article of the suspect. Even if she doesn't end up being the daughter of the criminals, she has clearly been genetically engineered."

"Why would you say that?"

Walters heard the Agent chuckle. "You'll see. I'll send you the link right now." The agent hung up, leaving the Colonel waiting in anticipation for the proof. As soon as the link was sent, the colonel clicked on it.

It was an online newspaper entitled _The Yarmouth Vanguard._ The front page of the newspaper showed a full-page picture of a red and white stripe lighthouse on a stormy day. The title was "DANGEROUS DAY AT CAPE FORCHU. TEENAGER SAVED YOUNG CHILD FROM DROWNING." Walters clicked on it, wanting to read the full article.

 _Even a calm, sunny at Cape Forchu can be deadly. Even though signs warn tourists to stay on the paths and not to go on the slippery rocky coast, many do not listen, and it ends in disaster. There are more than a few graves at the Yarmouth Light to serve as tribute to those who die in from falling into the waves around the lighthouse. Unfortunately, some still think disaster could not possibly happen to them, and it ends terribly._

 _This was the case for an American family of three visiting the light house yesterday. It was an unusually warm fall day, with a high of 15 degrees. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The family thought it would be safe to avoid the warnings._

 _The 9-year-old child of the family (who wishes to remain anonymous) lost his footing on the slippery slope of the rocks, and fell 10 feet into the freezing and unforgiving dark sea._

" _My child is an amazing swimmer" states the mother. "I would even go as far as to say he could probable have a better chance of surviving in the ocean than me… but I know that no one could tread for long in those waves._

 _The father started screaming for help. The mother was close to jumping in, but a nearby visiting class helped restrain her. One student ran to get help before it was too late, but the lighthouse was so far away from the cliffs. No one could survive in those waters for long. When the child went under, they knew they needed a miracle for the child to survive._

 _That miracle's name was Carter Boudreau._

 _Without thinking of her self, she jumped in after the child._

 _It was stupid. No doubt about that. But somehow, by some miracle, Carter dove into the frigid waters. She didn't resurface for almost a minute, but when she did, the child was in her arms. The huge waves threw her against the rocks several times, but she somehow remained conscious, while still protecting the young one._

 _When the student got back with the lifering buoy, she threw it into the water. Carter had to fight through the unforgiving waters of the Bay of Fundy o get to it, but she managed while keeping the boy afloat._

 _When they were both back on dry land, the First Responders were there as well._

" _It was terrifying." States one of Carter's classmates. "I thought she was going to die."_

 _The young boy has a severe case of hypothermia, but is expected to fully recover. Carter sustained a few injuries, the most serious one being a deep gash on her left leg, probably from a sharp rock. Paramedics stated that at first it was very bad, that she'd need stitches and possibly a blood transfusion as soon as they got to the Yarmouth Hospital. However, by the time they got back to the hospital, the injury had stopped bleeding and had turned into a small cut._

" _Who knows how many other injuries the girl sustained. Being in the cold water of the Bay of Fundy should have given her at the very least a bad cold, but an x-ray of her lungs showed no signs of injury or sickness. She is a miracle._

 _When asked about his experience, the young child was more than happy to comment._

" _She was a superhero. Maybe she doesn't have powers like Iron Man, but she saved my life, so she's just as good."_

 _When asked why she did it, Carter responded without uncertainty;_

" _I don't understand why everyone is calling me a hero. I knew I could have the kid, so I did. There's nothing special about that."_

 _Below is a picture of Carter Boudreau taken by her school in September._

As Walters read the article, he saw hints of the potential child. The super serum could help her heal unnaturally fast, but it still wasn't enough proof.

That was until he saw the picture at the end of the article.

The girl was small, only about 5 1". Her chestnut brown hair was about halfway down her back and it was braided. Her skin was very fair, and she was smiling. That's not what made is heart stop.

It was her eyes. It was the very eyes that saved him as a child in New York all those years ago. It was those very eyes that saved the world countless times. It was those very eyes that have now been wanted by the united nations for over 15 years.

He was staring into the eyes of Captain America.

At first, he couldn't move. The rumors were true. Even if there were some people who did not believe it was possible, he was certain it was her.

When the shock wore off, he immediately called the agent again.

"Awaiting orders, Colonel." The agent said.

"Get my jet ready. I want 10 agents at the landing site when we leave." Walters took a breath. "This calls for code 1004."

"She's just a girl, Colonel. She can't possible be that dangerous that we have to issue a code 1004."

The colonel slammed his fist on the table. "Did I ask for your opinion, agent?" the agent was smart enough to stay silent. "That's what I thought. She's the daughter of one or potentially two genetically engineered criminals. Therefore, that makes her a criminal."

"She might not even be their daughter."

The Colonel ignored him. "The jet is leaving in 1 hour." He ended the call and smiled.

If this girl was the daughter of Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers, they could use her to get a hold of the two criminals.

This was going to be perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

**My name is Carter**

 **Author's note: I can't believe how many people have followed and favourited my stories! It helps to get up chapters so much faster!**

 **Sorry about the wait. I could've sworn I put "on hiatus until exams are over" in the summary, but apparently, I did not. Between studying for exams and the robotics team I've had zero time this week to write. Lucky for you, (not really for me) I did something to my elbow and am currently writing this in the ER, which is where I'll probably be for the next 6 hours.**

 **I honestly think this chapter is going to be better than the last. I enjoyed writing it more, that's for sure!**

0o0o0o0

I woke up early the next morning, just as the sun came up. I looked at the clock I placed back on my bedside table last night. It read 7:45. Most teenagers like to sleep in on weekends, but not me. Getting out of bed, I looked at my injured leg. Wait. Correction. _Healed_ leg. There was only a faint white line where the injury had been, and even that would probably be gone in a few more hours.

I still had a few more hours until soccer practice, so I decided to go to the library to get an essay done that I had due for music class.

When I walked downstairs into the living room at the front of the house I was shocked to see my mother already awake. She never woke up early on weekends, unless if she was requested to work a shift at the fish plant. Yet here she was, staring away from me out the front window, as if she hadn't even noticed my presence.

"Mom?" she turned around quickly, as if I frightened her. The dark circles under her eyes indicated that she hadn't slept much last night, if any. I also noticed she was in the same clothes as last night.

"Good morning, Carter." She smiled, but I could tell it was forced. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Are you alright?" I questioned, starting to get worried.

"Obviously Carter." She had no intention of removing the mask she wore that hid the truth. "I was just thinking about yesterday."

I nodded, still feeling uneasy. She wouldn't lie to me. She had no reason to. Whenever she felt sad, or angry, she liked to share. The only thing she ever kept from me was my father, and even then she couldn't lie about someone she never told me about in the first place, right?

"Okay then." I looked at my watch. "The library's opening in 15 minutes. By the time I ride there it'll be open, so I'm going to finish my assignment from music class." I turned to leave the room but my mother stopped me.

"Carter, I don't think that's a good idea. It would be best if you spent the day here with me." She said from behind me.

"I'm grounded?" I said, dumbfounded.

"Not grounded, I just want to keep an eye on you for the next few days." She gave me a pleading look, as if she was the one getting grounded and was trying to get a smaller punishment.

"It's just the public library!" I said in dismay. "What do you think is going to happen? I'll go diving off another cliff or something. The library is almost a kilometre from the wharf!"

My mother rubbed her temples as if trying to fight off a headache. "I'm going to regret this." I heard her mutter. Then, in a louder voice she said, "Fine, Carter. You can go to the library until 9, then come back. If anything feels off, even if it's just a stranger that keeps looking at you, come straight back home. Understand?"

I was slightly confused, but I nodded. "Yes mom." I went upstairs to grab my homework and change (jeans and a pine green plaid shirt, as usual). When I came back downstairs I grabbed an apple for breakfast. I was going to go out the door but my mother was standing in front of it. She pulled me into a hug.

"Love you."

"Love you." I repeated. Without another word I ran out the door towards the barn to grab my bike. To be honest, I was getting a little creeped out. My mother was never this on edge, not even when I fell out of a tree and got a severe concussion a few years back.

I should've looked my mom in the eye and asked her what was really wrong. I should've demanded to know the truth. Instead, I tried to ignore it.

0o0o0o0o

The library was practically empty when I arrived. Besides the librarian and I, the only other person there was a mother with a baby in her arms, reading a book aloud to it.

I plopped my bookbag beside me an sat down at a vacant desktop. While it was starting up, I decided to check to see if someone had returned the book I wanted to read. I stood up and walked past the woman with the child, who was now softly singing to it. When I walked past, she gave me a dirty look and shielded the swaddled child from view.

For some reason the hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. Whatever you want to call it, a sixth sense or being paranoid, I suddenly felt nervous. My mother's words rang in my ear.

 _If anything feels off, even if it's just a stranger that keeps looking at you, come straight back home. Understand?_

"Get a grip, Carter." I mumbled to myself, going to the mythology section. "A mother with a child shouldn't get you all worked up." I turned to look at the woman, who was now whispering to the child but still staring daggers at me. Shuddering, I found the book I was looking for and walked back to the desktop that was now loaded.

I tried to finish my homework, but I couldn't focus, between my mother's words and the woman who was still staring at me (I look back every few minute) there was no way I could finish my music essay. Sighing, I shut down the computer and went to check out my book. Bidding the librarian goodbye, I walked outside to grab my bike.

Riding my bike down Main street, I got that creepy feeling that someone was watching me. Slowing down, I brought my bike to the curb and looked around.

Cars zoomed past, and a group of girls were walking out of the café across the street. The weirdest thing was a man wearing all black talking to himself. He looked like those secret agents you see in movies. When he saw me staring, he started walking towards me.

It wasn't like I was scared or anything, but I don't like strangers approaching me (like any person with common sense). I got on my bike as quickly as I could and got the heck out of there.

When I got home I didn't even bother putting my bike in the barn, since I was heading out in a bit to go to soccer practice anyways. I went to open my front door, but I couldn't.

It was locked.

I don't know where you're from, but in my small town, no one locks their doors. If there's a robbery, there's a good chance you'd somehow be related to the robber.

I hesitantly knocked on the door. "Mom? It's me, Carter." I saw movement behind the blinds of the living room, and then a click as she unlocked the door for me.

"Why the heck is the door locked? It's not like we live in New York or- "I cut off when she pulled me inside by the arm. She immediately locked the door and latched it like she was expecting someone to break in.

"What has you so on edge?" I said in disbelief. "Why are you acting so weird?"

She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "When you were out, was anyone you didn't know following you or trying to speak with you?"

I started to shake my head but stopped. "Come to think of it there was one dude who tried t talk to me, but he was probably just someone doing a survey."

My mom turned pale. "Carter what was he wearing?" She said slowly.

Her eyes looked pleading, like she desperately wanted me to say the right answer, the answer that that would make everything okay. The problem was, I didn't know what to do to get that answer.

"He was wearing all black." I said plainly.

My mother didn't move for a second. Then two. Suddenly, she let go of my shoulders as if they were on fire. "After 15 years you would've thought they forgot about you by now." She muttered, her head in her hands.

"What does that even mean, mom?" When I said the word _mom_ , her head snapped up.

"Follow me." She grabbed my hand and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Letting go of my hand, she rushed to her dresser, digging through her drawers, throwing clothes everywhere.

"Can you please tell me what's going on!" I demanded. "Why are you acting like it's the end of the world?"

It took her a few moments to answer. "There's not much time, Carter. I can't explain it all to you before they come." She pulled a small cardboard box out of the dresser. "There you are." She murmured. Walking up to me, she opened the small box. In it was a necklace.

It was very simple. Just a silver chain and a simple arrow matching in colour littered with gems.

"So you're freaking out and the solution is to give me a necklace? That'll solve everything." I said sarcastically. Instead of answering, she grabbed my hand and placed the necklace in my opened palm. Closing my hand over the necklace, she pulled away.

"Carter, look at me." When I did I saw tears in her eyes.

"There's no easy way to say this." She took a deep breath. "Carter, you're adopted."

0o0o0o0o

 **And… done! It's finally going to get interesting!**

 **The next chapter will be up anywhere from an hour to next Saturday, depending on how hectic robotics gets.**

 **R &R, my friends**


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again all the places in this chapter are real, so feel free to look them up!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

I honestly think I took the news relatively well.

Instead of screaming, or crying, or fainting, I just answered sarcastically;

"I'm also the Queen of England." Sarcasm is my defense mechanism. It just slips out when I should really keep my mouth shut.

"Carter, this is serious. I'm sorry but it's the truth."

I just stood still. Sure, we had no pictures of my father or me as a newborn, but I thought that it was just because my mother didn't want a reminder of him around.

"This isn't funny, mom." I whispered. "This is a joke, right?" She didn't answer.

"Carter, we don't have much time, but I'm going to explain this as quickly as I can." Said my mother (is she still my mother? Maybe she's just joking). She went to the window and pulled back the curtain to look out. She swore under her breath. "I might not get to finish in time. They're going to be here soon." She walked out of her room down the hallway to my room. It took me a second to follow her.

She didn't elaborate. She dumped the contents of my schoolbag on my bed and then went digging through my desk. After pulling out my passport, she finally spoke.

"Carter, you know I used to be American before you were born, right?" She looked at me. "Don't just stand there, get some clothes." For some reason, I didn't argue. I went to my drawers and started getting out a few pairs of underwear.

"You see, the U.S was no longer safe for me. I was a technician at S.H.E.I.L.D. a government agency that at one point controlled the avengers." I nodded as I put some clothes in my schoolbag.

"Well, when S.H.E.I.L.D fell because of Hydra, the Avengers were no longer controlled by the government, which later led to the Sokovian Accords, which you learned about in school."

"This is a great history lesson, but what does this have to do with me being adopted?" I interrupted.

"You see, all the heroes who went against the accords were sentenced to serve jail time, but Captain America helped them escape, so even after 16 years we have no idea where most of them are." My mother zipped up my backpack that was now full of clothes and toiletries and handed it to me.

"These criminals, these heroes, if you will, still had a life to live. Two of them had a daughter."

I blinked. This couldn't be true. You can't just blurt out that I'm adopted and supposedly the daughter of two… two what, exactly?

"Stop fucking with me mom." She looked at me, shocked that I would use such language. "Were you drinking last night or something? What has you so on—"

I stopped talking and we both froze. A noise just came from downstairs. A knock, maybe? Yes, it was a knock, because an identical sound just rang throughout the house again.

"We've run out of time" muttered my mother. She came up to me Carter, I need you to do exactly as I say. No matter what you want to do, you need to listen. Understand?" I nodded, because what else could I do?

My mother grabbed my schoolbag which was now packed like I was going on vacation somewhere for a few days. She handed it to me, which I then slung over my shoulder.

"You're going to buy a ticket to take The CAT ferry to Portland, Maine. Use the money I put in your bag. There's going to be enough to then take a bus to New York City. There's also extra, in case if you run into some trouble." She looked at my left hand, which I then realized I still held the necklace in. I shoved it in my jeans pocket before she went on. "Find Tony Stark. Show him the necklace." _(Wait. Did she just say Tony Stark?)_ "Do whatever it takes to talk with him. After that, tell him exactly what I told you." She was probably going to go on, but suddenly there was a huge bang and crash from downstairs.

"Get in the closet!" She shoved me into my closet. Hugging me, she kissed the top of my head. "Love you Carter." Without another word, she closed the closet door and stood in the middle of the room. Soon, thundering footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Suddenly, several people burst into the room. I looked through the crack in the door, trying to get a better look. Two grabbed my mother and put her arms behind her back.

There were 3 men and two women dressed in black, one was the woman who I saw at the library with the baby and another was the man who tried to stop me on my bike.

There was one more man. He had a grey suit on, with a blue tie. I couldn't see his face, but he was very tall with buzz cut blond hair. When he was about a foot away from her, he started slowly clapping.

"Congratulations Shannon. You've successfully kept a wanted criminal hidden for 15 years. You should be proud."

I heard my mother scoff. "Wanted criminal? Really Walters? She's just a child, not a threat."

Walters stepped closer to her. The two agents holding her shoved her on her knees.

"Just a child? She's the child of the most dangerous criminals out there. She needs to be contained. I'm surprised you of all people would keep such a dangerous weapon without any protection."

" _Contained?_ Like some experiment? I see you take after your predecessor. Anyway, you are too late, she's already gone."

"If she was gone you wouldn't have told me and delayed me longer." He turned to one of the men beside him. "Search the house." He turned to the other two who weren't holding my mother hostage. "You're coming with me. We're going to go check through the cameras we placed outside. And you two are staying here." They complied as 4 of the people left the room.

One started walking towards the closet, a gun in her hand. I suddenly remembered I wasn't just watching this unfold like I was watching a movie, I was part of it. I cowered towards the back of the closet, trying to figure out what to do.

Fortunately, I didn't have to.

There was a thump, a muffled scream, and the closet door swinging open. Standing there was my mother, breathing heavily. Behind her the two guards were out cold.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the closet.

"Carter, remember. Take the CAT, then to New York to find Tony Stark. He'll help." (So she _did_ say Tony Stark. I wasn't crazy.)

It felt like someone had just punched me in the stomach. Suddenly, this felt all too real. "You aren't coming with me?"

She smiled sadly. "I can't sweetie. I need to make sure they can't find you." She gave me a giant hug. "I love you."

"What's going on up there?" _Shit,_ I forgot the guard searching the house for me.

"I'll keep him occupied, you go Carter." She pointed to the window. Our house was on a hill, which meant that the second-floor window was less than 6 feet to the ground. Looking at me one last time, she ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs to meet the guard, while I opened the window.

I crouched on the windowsill, wondering how the hell my life got so fucked up in a matter of 24 hours. Suddenly, I heard a bang come from inside the house.

A gun shot.

My heart stopped, could my mother have been shot? Pushing that thought out of my mind, I jumped and hit the ground running.

I ran through the backyards of my neighbours, pulling my hood over my head. It had started raining, and people probably just thought that the neighbourhood kids were playing another game of manhunt.

While I was running, trying to put as much distance as I could between my house and my location, I calculated how I should go about getting to the ferry terminal.

From where I was now on Herbert street, it was only a 20-minute walk to the Old World Bakery and Deli, which wasn't very far from the ferry. The mot direct way would be down Main Street and then to Water street, but it would be easy to spot me.

I could also just go through the side streets, but if I have to be on the ferry by 10, and it was already 9:20, there wouldn't be enough time.

I stopped to catch my breath I was hunched over against the brick wall of the corner house. It was a miracle no one had seen me yet. I looked around. No one wanted to brave the rain on a Saturday. I didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. Biting my lip, I made a decision.

I walked out onto main street, head down. If someone spotted me from behind or from the side, I would have no way of knowing it.

Five minutes felt like an eternity, but no one came. No one tried to stop me. No one tried to grab me. I don't know if that settled my nerves or made it worse.

Finally, I made it to the terminal without incident. My nerves were on high alert, every sound making me jump.

When I walked inside the terminal, I let out a sigh of relief. Getting in line to buy a ticket, I pulled my hood off.

The man in front of me bid the clerk a goodbye and walked out of the small building. I was up next.

"How may I help you?" The woman started with a smile, but it quickly faded. "I'm sorry but where are your parents? We can only sell tickets to those 18 and older."

I bit back a curse, ma at my small figure. How the hell was I supposed to talk my way out of this one? I thought of the huge amount of money in my backpack, wondering if I could bribe the teller. _Worth a shot._ I thought to myself. Pulling about $600 in cash from my bag, I slammed it on the counter. "You sure about that?"

The woman looked at me skeptically. "Where'd you get the cash?"

I scoffed. "I didn't steal it, if your wondering. So, are you going to sell me a ticket or not?"

She nodded slowly and took the cash, then went to her computer.

"Adult walk-on ticket, one way or two way?"

I wanted desperately to say 2-way, that I'd be able to come back to this sleepy town one day, but I knew that would never be possible.

"One way, please." She nodded, and a few seconds later handed me my ticket.

"The ferry is loading now, you can go right out these doors." She gestured behind her. "Now get out of here before I get fired."

I nodded and went out the doors, ready to head into the unknown.

* * *

 **Are you guys as excited as I am that the story's finally getting going? Probably not, but personally I'm so hyped for this!**

 **Either the next chapter or the one after that are going to have a cameo from another hero who isn't an avenger. Who do you think it is going to be? Let me know by reviewing.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: This is the shortest chapter in history, but if I don't post this now I might not get a chance for more than a week, so here ya go. It's pretty bad, considering I wrote it in half an hour. Also, thanks to those who favourite and follow my stories, and thanks to those visitors who don't have an account who ae reading it!**

 **Onlyinitforthestories2** **: no, not Spiderman (although I loved him in homecoming!)**

 **Reviews are motivation!**

0o0o0o0o,

"You'll never find her now." Said Shannon Williams, smiling gravely. She knew she would never get out of this one, no matter what happened. Best case scenario she got locked up for life.

The guard was looking at her shocked, not believing this crippled woman could take out two fully trained U.S agents. "She's gone." Continued Shannon. "Just let her be. What do you think she's going to do? Overthrow the government?" Without uttering a word, the guard shot her in the leg. Shannon let out a cry of pain, the injury bringing her to the ground.

"Don't move if you don't want a matching injury." Ordered the guard. She obeyed.

Soon, Walters came back in with the accompanying guards. One look at the scene and he realized what had happened. Fuming, he turned to the guard that had shot Shannon. "Why didn't you radio us?!"

"The child might've not been here!" Stuttered the agent. "Even if she was here, she's definitely gone now."

Without a word the colonel punched the agent in the jaw, making him fall to the ground. "We better figure out where she is. Should we interrogate the criminal."

Walters looked at Shannon, blood surrounding her. He shrugged. "No pint. Even if she was willing to give us information, she's lost too much blood." He waved his hand. "Do away with her." He walked out of the room.

Another shot fired, and Shannon was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. She heard one guard speak like he was underwater, something about blaming Carter for this murder.

She looked at the ceiling covered in glow and the dark stars. So this was how she'd die.

Shouldn't death be painful? It felt welcoming, like going to sleep after a long day's work. Closing her eyes, Shannon let out a sigh of relief, that her part to play on this world was over.

She could only hope that Carter's was not.

0o0o0o0o

"Damn it!' Walters slammed his fist down on the dining room table, making the agents around him flinch. "Are you saying she may already be out of the country?"

The brave agent nodded slowly. "Don't worry, sir. She will still need a passport. We can wait at the border for her."

He gave her a look that made the agent shrink back in fear. "She's been hiding for 15 years, Smith. You think another 9 hours is going to be hard?" He sighed. He wasn't getting paid enough for this. "Listen. I have an idea.

After he was finished explaining, he asked if there was any questions. There were none. He was walking out the front door when he remembered something.

"And for God's sake find an excuse for that body upstairs."

0o0o0o0o

 **Welp that was terrible. A whopping 586 words. Please don't let this one chapter make you stop reading the story.**

 **R &R, my readers**


	6. Chapter 6

My name is Carter Chapter 6

Author's note: It's been too long! Robotics has been hectic and when I finally got ome free time I got the flu.

Shorter chapter than usual, but more than 1k words.

Remember to R&R!

0o0o0o0o

I didn't relax until the ferry was out in the Gulf of Maine.

Sighing and sitting up straighter in my seat, I wondered why those people hadn't found me yet in the two hours I'd been on board the CAT.

For the first hour I just stayed on deck, knowing if someone walked out of those heavy doors I could easily swim for shore.

As it got closer and closer for the ship to set sail, I decided it was best to get rid of my most distinguishing feature; my hair.

I had been growing it out since I was little, with only a small trim here and there.

I walked to the washroom, keeping my head down and following the lines on the floor.

When I went to the washroom I was relieved to find no one there. I put my back on the sinks and opened the front pocket, where I recalled my mother packed a Swiss army knife.

I flipped open the scissors. I went on my tiptoes, so I could see myself better in the mirror (the struggles of being short). After I took my hair out of my braid and instead put it in a ponytail, I closed my eyes, but then opened them, because using scissors while not being able to see is probably a bad idea.

Sucking in a deep breath, I snipped off my ponytail in one swift motion.

Hair fell around my head. It was all different lengths; the shortest being just over my ears. Wanting to look decent, I kept cutting it.

 _Snip_. I felt like I had a new identity. _Snip_. I didn't even look like Carter anymore. _Snip._ Would anyone even recognize me?

I stared at the hair floating into the sink. I turned the water on, hoping it wouldn't clog the drain.

Looking in the mirror, I frowned. My hair was sticking up in several places (the struggle of having thick hair) but it would do.

I looked more like a guy than a girl, and I was seriously debating whether I should go all Mulan and act like a boy but decided against it. I had a voice that was too high pitched, and all my clothes were clearly for girls. This would have to do.

I packed my knife in my back pocket and slung my backpack over my shoulder, heading out of the washrooms.

I walked through the now crowded vessel, wondering where I should sit. I could go to the movie lounge; it would be hard to spot me, but I couldn't have a quick escape. I could go outside, but there was only one entrance, and I didn't feel like swimming in the middle of nowhere when the ferry got out of port.

I settled for the back lounge; it was big and open, which meant that I would be able to see anyone suspicious, and it had several exit points, including a life boat almost directly outside. I went for the corner seat in front of the windows. I could see everyone in case if I ran into one of the agents from Yarmouth.

That's where I've been for roughly an hour, about half an hour since we left port.

Unfortunately, since I had time to sit and breathe, that meant I would start thinking too.

What was that gunshot I heard? Could someone have shot my mom, or was it the other way around? If what she said was true and she was really an ex S.H.I.E.L.D agent, I doubt she would've gone down that easily.

I sucked in a quick breath. _Worrying's going to do nothing, Carter_. I told myself. _It won't make a difference so why bother?_

I decided to distract myself by taking a thorough look through my backpack.

I dumped the contents of my backpack on the seat next to me (earning me strange stares from the guy sitting across from me.

A few plaid shirts, three pairs of black leggings, some underwear, deodorant, toothbrush, and toiletries. All the normal stuff you would expect.

At the bottom was the box that my mom put the cash and my passport.

First, I counted the cash. After spending over $600 to bribe that clerk to buy a ticket, I still had about $1400 CAD, which would be about $1100 American ($1106, to be exact, but who's counting?).

After doing that, I reached my hand to the bottom of the box to grab, my passport.

To b honest, I didn't even know I had a passport. Hell, id never even seen one before. I'd never even been out of my province, let alone Canada. I took a closer look.

It was a small blue booklet, with the Canadian crest on the front. I opened it, shocked to see a picture of me.

It had to be taken recently; I had my braces off, which only happened few months ago.

 _IS this from my class photo?_ Ithought to myself. I moved on and I looked at the info, my height, nationality…

… my date of birth.

It was wrong.

The day and month of my birthday were the same, but according to the year I was 19 years old.

My mom must've made a fake passport in case this happened. She'd been preparing for something like this to happen for years, I bet.

I set the passport back in the box and placed it in the bottom of my backpack. Sighing, I leaned back into the seat.

I felt something in my jeans pocket. I pulled out the object, which was the necklace my mother gave me a few hours ago. I took a closer look.

This morning I thought the necklace was silver, but after closer inspection, I realized it wasn't pure silver, but the arrow was actually diamond.

I looked at it in disbelief. It must've cost a fortune, which led to another question.

Who were my parents? I started digging for the Avengers on the internet. (Spent 20 dollars to rent a desktop for the one-way trip, but it was worth it. I didn't know the next time I would get a chance). At first, I thought the arrow might represent Hawkeye, but he'd just been broken out of prison 10 years ago, so he couldn't possible be my father.

The other searches turned up with dead ends too. Sam Wilson? Got recaptured soon after escaping jail 18 years ago. Bruce Banner? Was unable to have children. Same with Black Widow and Vision. Unable to have children, one because of genetic enhancement, the other because he was technically not human at all.

Scarlet Witch's case was unknown, but no one had seen her in over a decade and a half; many speculated she decided to join her brother in death.

Thor returned to Asgard before the war even broke out and hadn't been back since. (someone probably warned him how shitty Earth was for the Avengers).

Tony Stark is a different story. He stopped inventing, and for some reason Pepper was still with him. Believe me, when I was told I had at least one avenger parent, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were my first guess (it would explain where I got my smarts from). However, I soon realized that wasn't possible; if Pepper was pregnant, it would've been big news. No way anyone could keep that a secret.

Sure, she could've faked a miscarriage, but when I looked it up, nothing came up. I scrapped that idea immediately.

Finally, it was captain America.

He would probably be the most likely candidate, we both had blue eyes after all. However, most say he died (along with the Winter Soldier) in a plane crash when they were trying to get back to America from Europe. The government didn't comment, with good reason. Who would believe that they didn't kill America's patriotic hero, after a falling out? Even after he came out as a so called "traitor", many still believed in him. If they heard the government killed him, there would be riots in the streets.

I groaned, lightly banging my head on the desk in front of me, earning a strange glare from the lady on the desktop next to me.

I'd been searching for hours. No new clues.

I guess I just have to wait until I meet the genius they once called Iron Man.

0o0o0o0

 **I'm sorry that there wasn't much in this chapter. Remember to leave a review if you like my story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: Thanks so much for the reviews, followers and favourites ! As a treat, I'm updating the story 3 days early! Unfortunately, I'm afraid this is a filler chapter, but now I can be back on track with my updates. The story will be updated every weekend.**

 **(P.S. The cameo of the non-avenger won't be for a while; I honestly didn't think it would take this long to get the story going).**

0o0o0o0o

A man entered the small town diner, which bustled with the evening rush. Families chattered, men were drinking, and teenagers hung around the old Pac-man game. A regular Friday night at the diner.

Shivering, the man took his hat off. Even in fall, it was already -4 and snowing lightly outside.

The waitress behind the bar waved to him, a pot of coffee in her hand. "Hey Charlie!" He smiled and sat at the stool in front of the women, who immediately poured him a cup of the beverage.

"How was your day? She asked, leaning on the countered.

He smiled as he took a sip of the coffee. "Good. We got the truck loaded. Should get paid before winter comes around. "What about you Jasmine?"

She smiled. "Shift ends in 10 minutes." She walked over to another customer to fill up her mug. She came back in front of Charlie. "You want to go back to your place after?"

"What else would I do on a Friday night?"

0o0o0o0o

Half an hour later the two were barely in the door of Charlie's apartment before he had Jasmine against the wall, kissing her deeply.

"I didn't know… you liked rock music." Gasped Jasmine between kisses. Charlie stopped. He heard the faint sound of a guitar solo coming from his living room.

He knew for a fact that he didn't leave the radio on, and even if he did, it definitely wouldn't be on anything other than 27.9 Classical Time.

"Wait here." He ordered Jasmine. With cation, he made his way towards his living room, wondering what the hell was going on here. He thought back to almost 20 years ago, when a similar situation occurred…

He stopped, took a breath, and turned the corner quickly, turning on the light.

Someone was sitting on the couch, arms crossed and feet up on the coffee. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized the figure, even if he hadn't seen her in over a decade.

"What… what are you doing here?" He said dumbly, shocked. "Why-"

"Charlie? Are you okay" Jasmine poked her head around the corner hesitantly. When she saw the woman sitting on the couch, she put her hands on her hips. "Who's that?"

The woman stood up. "I'm Nadia, one of… Charles' cousins." She spoke with a thick Russian accent.

Jasmine looked at Charlie. "I thought you had no family left?"

Charlie opened his mouth, about to say some feeble lie, but luckily Nadia spoke before he could.

"We haven't talked in years after we had a falling out." She explained. "I finally got sick of it and decided to apologize."

Jasmine didn't look convinced. "Is this true, Charlie?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

There was a moment of silence until Nadia cleared her throat. "I don't want to be rude, but me and my cousin have a lot of catching up to do, so…" She trailed off.

Jasmine nodded. "Call me later, Charlie." She said curtly. She then quickly left the apartment, the door slamming behind her. _(god, she must be pissed)._

There was a moment of silence until Nadia snorted. "Charlie? Really? Couldn't have gone with something more original?" Her accent was gone now, replaced with an American one.

He ignored the snarky comment. "How'd you find me?"

She walked up to him. Never lost you. Put a tracker in your photo album."

"I should've gotten rid of it. It could be used as evidence."

"Knew you wouldn't." Nadia walked over to his mantle, where she started looking at photos she had never seen before, taken after they parted ways. Most were filled with images of the woman and Charlie together.

"How long have you been together?" She asked, taking a particular one off the shelf. This one she remembered being taken vividly, but before she could ask about why it was out in the open Charlie took it from her hands and placed it back on the mantle.

"Must be a while, the way you were making out in the hallway. You're too gentlemen like to be like that before at least the third or fourth-"

"Do you know how much danger you put us in by just being here?" He interrupted. "How you could be putting people we care about in danger?"

He expected her to say something along the lines of, _"I don't care about many people",_ or maybe even _"Everyone I care about can defend themselves just fine_." He was not expecting what came out of her mouth next.

"That's why I'm here." She took a shaky breath then continued. "They found her."

He thought he might have heard wrong. "Pardon?"

She handed him a news report printed off the internet. It was recent; less than 12 hours old.

On the front page was a small green house with police tape around it. It was titled Murder in Town: Daughter is only suspect. He quickly read it.

 _This Past Saturday, neighbours heard gunshots come from a small house in Yarmouth. Police quickly arrived at the scene and gave us information on what happened._

 _The victim's body was found in her bedroom around midmorning. She was laying in bed, with two gunshot wounds, one in the leg and a fatal one to her abdomen. Reports police officer Smith._

 _The suspect is the victim's daughter, 15-year-old Carter, who hasn't been seen since the incident took place._

 _Many close friends say that Carter is not to blame, seeing as she just saved a small child the day before. However, seeing as her fingerprints were found on the gun, no one else was seen entering the house, and Carter has run away, it is unlikely that she will be found innocent._

 _This case is still in development. If you have any information, please contact the Yarmouth Police Department. Remember; they just want your information. Not your name._

By the time Charlie finished reading the article, his hands were shaking.

"No." He whispered. "We were so careful…"

"Not careful enough." Nadia said. Even though she knew this was a dire situation, she stared up at the tall man and smirked. "You ready for one last mission, Rogers?"

He nodded solemnly. "I'm a super soldier, Romanoff. I'm always ready for another mission."

0o0o0o0o

Steve glanced at Natasha, who was sleeping in the passenger seat, head leaning against the window. His mind flashed to their first time on the run. How much simpler those times were.

He put his eyes back on the road. They had been driving for hours, but he knew Natasha must've been tired if she fell asleep so fast.

 _14 years_. That's how long it been since he'd seen her.

She was still beautiful. It was odd seeing her without her red hair; she dyed it blonde to go into hiding. Her eyes were still the vibrant colour he remembered so long ago.

He knew he was with Jasmine, but it took her years to convince him to date her. It wasn't her fault; it was just that he couldn't be with someone when he still loved another woman. He would feel too guilty playing with her feelings that way.

Finally, he had to believe that Natasha wasn't coming back. His feelings for her had shrunk, and he'd agreed to go out with Jasmine, and the rest was history.

They'd been dating for about a year, and then out of the blue Natasha shows up without any warning, bringing news about their child.

He thought he was over Natasha. _No, he could never get over Natasha._ He thought that he could finally get on with his life, since she wasn't coming back.

God, was he wrong.

Yawning, he decided it would be for the best if they took a break; better for them to be both while rested.

He pulled over on the side of the highway, undoing his seatbelt. Sighing, he leaned his seat back, his eyes already closing.

He heard shuffling beside him. "Where are we?" Mumbled a half-asleep Natasha.

"Resting. Go back to sleep. We'll drive in the morning."

"Goodnight, Steve." He heard her curl up in her seat.

"Goodnight Nat."

0o0o0o0o

 **I really didn't know where to go with this chapter. I was going to stop it when Steve read the article, but I couldn't stop.**

 **When did you figure out who they were? Let me know in the reviews!**

 **Edit: I just read this over and god it was terrible. I'll definitely fix this later.**

 **R &R, my friends.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: I'm sorry. As you might've saw, the last time I posted this chapter it was almost completely just HTML (thanks to LexiG17 to pointing it out). The worst part is that the file must've gotten corrupted, so I had to do all the editing over again.**

 **Thanks to WonderousWonder for being my Beta!**

0o0o0o0o

I nibbled on an overpriced croissant I bought from the café, contemplating my next move.

It would be about 45 minutes until we docked, which didn't give me much time to think of a plan.

At first, I thought the best idea would be to go to the parking level and hide in a truck or something. However, I've seen enough episodes of _Border Security_ to know that probably wouldn't work, and I could imagine myself getting caught rather easily.

I figured my best bet would be to use my fake I.D. since I wasn't a child according to the I.D, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting across the border…

Unless those "agents" back at my house were actually part of the Canadian or U.S government.

The thought sent a shiver down my spine. Why would the government try to kill a kid? It's not like I was a criminal.

It wasn't worth the risk to use the I.D, since those evil agents could be anywhere…

Maybe even sitting at that table behind me.

I had left Yarmouth overs 5 hour ago; more than enough time for someone to get a hold of the government to be on the watch for a small girl. (If what my mom said wasn't a bunch of hogwash).

Going down to the parking deck it is. I decided

I grabbed my bag and went to the staircase leading to the parking deck. Unfortunately, there was a worker who looked bored out of his mind.

"Excuse me, but I have to get to my vehicle. It's super important." I lied to the huge worker, who was at least 2 feet taller than me.

He looked down at me, frowning. "The passage ends in less than an hour." He said in a gruff voice. "Move along."

"Please, sir. It's my medication. If I don't take it, I may need medical attention."

He let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's go." He started down the stairs. _Shit. I could not climb into the back of a pick-up truck when someone else is down there._

"There's no need!" I said quickly. He turned and gave me a strange look. "I can find my car myself, thank you very much."

"Protocol, ma'am. Children aren't allowed –"

"I'm not a child." I huffed, arms crossed.

"-in case their intentions are to rob our customers." He finished his sentence. "So are you coming or not?"

I started backing up the stairs slowly. "Never mind then, okay bye!" I ran out of the stairs hallway and down the hall back to my seat in the corner.

Well that was a bust. There was a small chance the worker would call security, but probably not since he didn't have any proof, and I didn't steal anything.

0o0o0o0o

 _This has to work. It just has to._

They were going to announce that those travelling in vehicles could go down to the parking deck soon; I could get in an unlocked car and pray that no one would spot me.

I was _screwed._

I was waiting at the top of a staircase for the announcement (not the same one as before. There would be no way that guy would let me go without first going to security.)

The old worker at this staircase couldn't care less about why I was here so early. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying telling me about her two pet cats named Tiger and Snowball. I just kept smiling and nodding; trying to be polite.

Finally, a beeping sound could be heard throughout the ship.

" _Excuse this interruption. At This time, could all passengers who took a vehicle please proceed to the parking deck, as we will be docking in Portland shortly."_

"Have a good day, Miss!" I waved to the confused elderly woman as I ran down the stars, knowing I had to be fast.

I took a look around at the dozens of vehicles.

"Which one… which one?" I muttered, walking around. Finally, I spotted a white truck with a small trailer attached.

Luck must have been on my side for the first time today. The hatch to the trailer was left without a lock. I swung it open quickly. Without even looking inside, I got inside and slammed the door closed, and not a moment too soon. I heard voices outside a few seconds later.

"Aren't you excited, Lee? We're going to the Big Apple! Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, this is going to be a great vacation!" A high pitched voice said that was getting into the passenger seat of the truck.

"It's still over a 5 hour drive, Mei .Don't get too excited." A man's voice said, getting in the other side of the truck.

My heart stopped. No way could these people be going to New York. There's no way I'm that lucky.

Suddenly, the truck started moving, and I flew towards the doors. Rubbing my head, I sat up. I felt something that may have been a carpet, but I can't be too sure when I'm blind as a bat.

Suddenly, I remembered that my mother packed a small flashlight. I opened up my bag, digging for the small device. After finding it, I turned it on, squinting until my eyes adjusted.

When they finally did, I stood up and looked around the faintly lit area.

It was crates and crates of who knows what. There was a carpet on the ground of the entire trailer (to prevent breakage of whatever was in those crates, maybe?). I debated whether to open one, but decided against it; with my clumsiness I'd end up making too much noise and alert the couple of my presence.

Sighing, I sat back down against the doors of the trailer before the vehicle started moving again. When it started starting and stopping it was a sure sign that we were getting closer and closer to the border patrol.

After what was probably about 15 minutes, I heard the driver window roll down (I have strangely good hearing for some odd reason).

"Hello Sir. Where are you eating today?" I heard an officer say.

"New York City. My wife and I are meeting an old family friend."

"How old is this family friend?" Asked the officer. What a weird question.

"Old enough that she could use a hand around the place."

"Have a good day, sir, and make sure you stay alert." Rolling up the window, the truck sped off, leaving me confused.

What was that? Definitely something weird going on.

"Whatever." I muttered to myself, leaning further against the door. "Even if it's a cult or an evil AI robot I can't do anything to help, so why bother worry."

I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, even though it was only 3 in the afternoon.

A little sleep couldn't hurt, right.

0o0o0o0o

I awoke when I heard the woman talking excitedly.

"We're here! I can't believe I'm finally meeting her! Can't she teach me to see?"

"Yes, my love. We're almost here." Answered the man.

A few minutes later, there was so many horns honking I could barely think.

Must be New York. I thought to myself.

Soon, we entered what must have been a quieter neighbourhood. The man put on the breaks and turned off the engine.

When he got out, I heard another person walk up to him, talking to him in a whisper. I placed my ear against the side of the truck, straining to hear what they were saying.

"He's been spotted tonight. He's onto our work once again. We must unpack immediately." A different voice said. She sounded like she held the upmost height of authority.

 _Who were these people?_

"Of course." Answered the man. They started walking towards the door of the trailer, giving me just enough time to think; ' _oh shit they're going to see me,'_ before the door opened into the night and I tumbled out onto the pavement, faceplanting.

Groaning, I looked up to see two shocked middle-aged people staring at me.

I quickly stood up. "Look, thanks for the lift, but I need to go so-"

I didn't get a chance to finish before the woman threw a punch at my face. I easily ducked and pushed my knee into stomach. (Thank God I remembered some Taekwondo from two years ago).

She stumbled backwards, recovering from my attack. I turned to see the man running at me with a knife in hand.

I jumped to the side, trying to avoid the man. Alas, I wasn't fast enough. I let out a cry as my arm exploded in pain.

While I was stupid and looked at my arm, he punched me in the jaw, sending me to the ground.

I got up quickly, even though the world was spinning.

Instead of attacking, he gave me an odd look. "That should've knocked you out."

I held my arms up as if I was sparring. "I can do this all day."

"Too bad, because you only have a few minutes left to live."

After he said that, I don't really know what happened, to be honest with you. It was a blur.

I remember the street lights turning off, and someone screaming "He's here!" ( _the woman in the car, maybe?)_

I also remember hearing someone jump down from the rooftop and start fighting the man that was currently trying to kill me, and not being able to move out of fear.

After, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was able to make out two silhouettes fighting; one with a knife, and the other with… Two _batons_?

While they were fighting, I had bigger problems to deal with.

My arm was bleeding profusely. Although the knife may have missed my wrist, it still was a deep wound.

I sat down and leaned against the brick wall of the alleyway, not having the strength to stand. I didn't know what to do in my current predicament.

It must've been the shock of the blow, but I decided to watch the fight. The man with the knife had nothing on the figure with the batons. He was much faster and more agile. Soon, the man made one wrong move and the man with the batons did one swift hit on the back of his head before falling at his feet.

It was then I remembered I wasn't just witnessing the fight; I was in it.

The man turned to me and started walking towards me. I looked around, realizing that I was in a dead end. I tried to use the wall to stand up, but I was too weak. Instead, I got on one knee, which hopefully looked more intimidating than just sitting. (Yeah right. A small skinny girl 4 11" could definitely look intimidating).

He kept walking towards me, batons in hand, when he was about a foot away, I closed my eyes, waiting for a blow.

It didn't come. Instead, the man hesitated and said, "You're a child."

"No shit, Sherlock." I replied, opening my eyes. He lowered his batons but didn't put them away.

"Are you with them?" He asked.

I closed my eyes again, finding it tiring to even just keeping them open. "I'm not, but I doubt you believe me."

I expected him to deliver a blow, but instead I felt a hand putting pressure on my wound.

"Oh fuck." I heard him murmur under his breath. He pushed harder on my arm, trying to stop the flow of blood. "I'm calling an ambulance."

My eyes snapped open. "No hospital. Please. They'll capture me." I probably sounded desperate, but I didn't care.

The man sucked in a deep breath. "This seems very familiar." He muttered. Then louder he said, "I'm bringing you to a friend's house. She can fix you up… hey, stay with me, kid."

My eyes were closing again. I vaguely remembered that I shouldn't do that, but sleep sounded really good right about now…

0o0o0o0o

I woke up to my arm feeling as if it weighed 100 pounds and arguing. I let my eyes closed, hoping I could eavesdrop on these two complete strangers, who I had let take me to their house.

"You shouldn't have brought her here, Matt. She should be at the hospital." The female voice was unfamiliar.

"You don't understand, Claire. The moment I said the word ambulance, she was immediately alert. I'd never seen anyone so frightened. I couldn't do that to someone."

The woman (Claire?) sighed. "How'd she even get into this mess?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe she just wanted to help catch a drug bust or something, wouldn't be the first time some kid got caught up in all this." He paused. "How old do you think she is?"

"Hard to tell. She could be anywhere between 11 to 17, but I can't be sure. Should wake up in about 4 hours. At first, I thought she would need a blood transfusion, but it seems she didn't lose as much as we first thought."

I decided to make my presence known. Groaning, I sat up and opened my eyes, looking around.

I was in a small living room of an apartment. It was dark outside, which meant I hadn't been out for that long. Two people were standing in the middle of the room, looking surprised to see me awake.

Immediately, the woman came up to the couch and kneeled in front of me, placing a hand on my non-injured shoulder. "Hi sweetie. What's your name?"

"My name is Carter. And I'm 15 years old, to answer his question." I gestured to the man, who was wearing a weird costume. It even had horns on it…

"Wait a second! You're the Devil of Hell's Kitchen!" I exclaimed, pointing at him.

"Yes I am. Now tell me, why were you fighting a cult. Some prank gone wrong? You seriously put my mission at risk." The man crossed his arms, frowning at me.

I scoffed. "Hardly." The woman gave me a confused look as she undressed the bandages on my arm. I continued. "I stowed away in their truck when they got off the ferry. Had to get to New York somehow."

Even though I couldn't see his face, I imagined a confused look on his face. "Why did you need to get to New York?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I answered. I turned to the woman. "Can I go now?"

She looked at me, eyebrow raised. "You just got a concussion and lost a lot of blood. You won't be good enough to do anything for at least two days." She finished undressing my wounds and let out a gasp. "This shouldn't be possible."

"What is it?" The Devil came to look at my arm, which just looked like a deep scratched now with some unnecessary stitches. "What the hell?"

I shrugged. "I'm a fast healer. "I stood up, leaning on the couch for support at first, but then stood up straight. "Can I go now?" I pushed by the two, heading out the door.

"Who are you?" I heard the woman ask.

"I already told you." I called as I entered the apartment hallway. "I'm Carter." I didn't even wait for a reply before I went out the door.

Next stop, Stark Industries.

0o0o0o0o

That took an unnecessarily long time to get out. Sorry for the AU with Daredevil. I've only seen the two seasons of DD and first season of JJ, so sorry for any inconsistencies with the shows.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Quick thanks to all of you reading this; MNIC has just passed THREE-THOUSAND-READS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

 **Unfortunately, I need a new beta. If you are interested, it would be great if your strengths included describing scenery, Fight scenes, etc. Please PM me ASAP!**

 **Vivienne: Okay, you can not understand how happy I was to read that review. Beyond ecstatic! I couldn't believe someone thought that highly of this story, and it means a lot!**

0o0o0o0o

"So let me get this straight." Said Secretary Ross, leaning back in his chair. "You want to frame the girl for murder, have almost all of North America looking for her, and then, one we capture her, use her as a bartering tool to capture Captain America and Black Widow?"

Ross could see Walters smile through the video. "Brilliant, isn't it? We're killing two birds with one stone; getting two avengers recaptured, and their enhanced daughter, too."

Ross Furrowed his brow. "She might not even have a clue. You don't have children, correct, Colonel?" Walters shook his head. "You see, parents would do anything for their children." Thaddeus glanced at a photo on his desk then continued. "Anything. If Romanoff and Rogers were smart, which they are, I know for a fact they would have never let their daughter learn about them."

"So we use her. Send a message out, saying—"

"—saying what, Walters?" If you don't come, we'll kill your daughter?" Snapped Ross. "That would be terrible publicity."

"-Saying that we have caught the girl who brutally murdered her mother and will be brought to justice swiftly." Finished Walters. A sly smile appeared on his face. "Even if this girl wasn't their daughter, there would be no way that Steve Rogers would let an innocent child pay for crimes she didn't commit. Even if she isn't his daughter, you know he'd feel to guilty to stay hidden."

The secretary agreed. "So, you're putting your agents in New York?" Walters nodded.

Ross thought for a moment. "That'll work, but no harm is to come to the girl unless she provokes us; there's a good chance that she is just an innocent bystander in all of this."

Walters scoffed. " _She's enhanced. There's no such thing as being innocent when you're one of them."_ He said firmly _._ Without another word, the colonel ended the call and walked out of his temporary office into the main hallway of what was the United States special division (thank God they would be moving their operation to New York. He couldn't wait to go somewhere that had cellphone service and didn't smell like dead fish.)

"Excuse me, sir?" Walters turned to see a woman jogging towards him. He stopped walking, waiting for the agent to catch up to him.

"Sorry, sir, but what's happening now? We can contact border control to find her—"

"No need." Walters cut in. "She'll get past them. Instead, we're going to put every agent listening into security cameras, police stops, and have agents in Manhattan. She doesn't have a phone, so don't worry about that." Walters pushed past the woman, hoping to get back on American soil within the next three hours.

"But Sir!" She called after him. "Why New York? Why are you so sure she's there?"

Walters didn't stop walking as he answered.

"That's where the last original Avenger is, it is where she will be too."

0o0o0o0o

"I think we're being tailed."

"No were not."

"That blue truck has been tailing us for over an hour."

"Seeing as we've only moved a few miles over the last 45 minutes, I would find it weird if they _weren't_ still following us."

"But maybe we should get out and—"

"Just _shut up._ Unless they have a facial recognition technology, we'll be fine."

Steve slumped back in his seat, exasperated. He didn't know why he'd let Natasha drive when she asked to switch 2 hours ago, seeing as every time she did, it either annoyed him to death, got him anxious, or she drove so much like a maniac that if he wasn't Captain America he would have probably would've had a heart attack by now.

Right now, it fell in the first two categories.

They'd hadn't talked the entire 7-hour drive. That is, until Steve started to get nervous about half an hour ago.

"Why is it taking so long?" Muttered Steve, sitting up straighter in his seat, trying to see what the hold up was.

"Why the hell would I know?" Natasha slammed her hands on the wheel, and for a moment Steve feared for his life. The only person she ever got this annoyed with was Tony.

There was silence after that.

At least until they were still stuck in traffic 25 minutes later, and Steve decided to start small talk to past the time.

"So you've already seen what I've been up to, what about you, Natasha?"

She looked at him quizzically. "You sound like a fifth grader."

"I do not."

"Yeah you do."

"You're avoiding the question."

She sighed. "Nothing really. Was out in Texas for awhile, just working at a convenience store. At one point I might've blown my cover, so I moved. Again, and again. For the last year I was in Washington. Not like they would look for me there anyways."

"So who are you now?"

"For the last 12 months I've been Nadia Ramone. Just a Russian immigrant looking for a low paying job." Natasha snorted. "And you're Charlie."

Steve sighed. He was never going to live that down. _Why'd he pick such a childish nickname?_

Silence ensued for another 10 minutes, until Natasha spoke up.

"Do you think she's been okay, Steve? Do you think she's had a good childhood?" He could hear a small tremor in her voice.

"Of course, Natasha. We both trusted Shannon. She did what was best for…" Steve trailed off. _How could he forget his own child's name?_

"Her name's Carter." Natasha's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. "I'm sorry. I thought that naming her Peggy would be too obvious, and Margaret is such a common old name, so I went with Carter, because it still represents Peggy, and it's unique for a girl to have, and I didn't want to give her a name without meaning, and—"

"—and it's a great name, Nat." Cut in Steve quickly. She rarely rambled; only when she was embarrassed or scared, which didn't happen too often. "Peggy would be honoured."

"You really think so?"

"Of course—oh shit." Steve was looking ahead of them like a deer in the headlights.

Natasha glanced at where Steve was looking and swore under her breath. There were cops stopping and checking driver licenses about 200 metres ahead, only those weren't county police like there should be here; they were from the New York Police Department, who shouldn't be on this highway for at least 30 more miles. "Grab my black duffel bag from the back seat." Ordered Natasa. Steve handed her the bag as she dug through it.

"Thank God I have two more sets." In her hand she held 4 small clear plastic containers with the tops made of tinfoil; two sets of contact lenses.

"Hope you've used these before, Rogers." Mumbled Natasha as she put the blue set in. By the time Steve had managed to get the lenses in his eyes (which were now a dull brown) Natasha was already driving again.

"Okay, Charlie." Natasha switched back to the Russian accent. "I am still Nadia Ramone. I met you when driving through the country and now were going to New York for a weekend. Got it?"

Steve nodded as they pulled up to the police cars.

0o0o0o0o

Steve didn't relax until 5 minutes after they left the police stop.

"They went even looking for us, Natasha, just some drug smugglers." As soon as they got to the police line, they took one look at the ex-avengers and sent them on their way. "We're looking for Canadians smuggling meth into New York city. Alberta license plates. Move along."

"Can never be too careful." Murmured Natasha, checking her mirrors. Silence ensued for another few minutes until Natasha finally asked the question that had been nagging at her.

"So who is that Josie girl you were making out with at your apartment? How long have you two been together for?"

"Her name is Jasmine, first of all, and second of all, not for that long, about a year."

Natasha snorted. "Sounds like a long time to me, unlike some others you dated."

He chuckled. "That was only because you forced me to go on second dates, thinking that I didn't give them enough of a chance."

"Hey, you dated Sharon for at least three months. You have me to thank for that." Natasha pointed out.

Steve missed this. Whenever they were on missions, back when things were simple as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (or as simple as it can be when you're a super soldier out of time), the banter was one of the things he enjoyed most about the missions.

Instead of continuing with the Smalltalk, the skyscrapers of the Big Apple were soon visible and all thought were forgotten as they focused on the task at hand.

0o0o0o0o

"This is a stupid plan." Muttered Natasha as they walked around Central Park, too quiet for a normal person to hear, but not for Captain America's super hearing.

"You have a better plan?" Natasha kept quiet. "Didn't think so. I know that Shannon would most likely tell Carter to see Tony…"

"…but we can't very well just waltz into Stark Tower after what happened." Finished Natasha. "So instead we ask around Central Park to see if anyone has seen her. I doubt she'll be able to get an appointment to see Stark, anyways. That will probably lead her to wander around the city, lost and frightened. On the other hand, looking for a small girl in a city of over-"

"Ever the optimist." Muttered Steve.

Natasha sighed. "Let's start, then. It'll be rush hour soon." The sky was just starting to turn pink as the sun rose above the skyline, signalling a new day.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 **The next chapter is going to be epic! Carter's going to try to meet Tony, and her biological parents are in the same city as her.**

 **Remember to R &R, my readers.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: This is it. I made the chapter extra long since this is the end of part 1. As my cousin would say, "This shit about to get real"**

 **Full note at end of chapter! I recommend you read it!**

 **P.S. just a reminder that Tony was single for a while before Civil War**

 **P.P.S In this story Steve never sent the letter to Tony, so they never made up.**

 **0o0o0o0o**

When I walked outside into the frigid air, I realized I forgot my backpack.

I must've left it in the truck when I first arrived at New York, so by now it's either in a police station or at the bottom of the Hudson river. I was hoping for the latter.

I shivered, holding my arms around me. Thank god I had my sweater; it may not have been as cold as up home, but it was definitely still chilly enough to get hypothermia.

I just wandered around for a while, waiting for the sun to rise so I could ask someone how to get to Stark Tower that wasn't a drug addict sitting on the sidewalk.

I spent the remainder of the night (about an hour and a half until sunrise) avoiding people and crossing streets to avoid said people. I may not be as weak as I look, but I still was a very short person in the biggest city in the world.

When the first rays of daylight were visible in the night sky, the business people of the city were up and about, ready to start their day.

I was planning to ask someone for directions to the tower, but my stomach suggested otherwise _(Jesus, how was it possible for a body part to sound like a whale?)_

Unfortunately, all my money was in my backpack… wait! I remembered I put change in my jeans pocket from the croissant I had on the ferry.

Since I paid with a $20, and the overpriced croissant was $5, I still had fifteen left over. Enough for breakfast and a little left over.

Looking for a restaurant in New York was easier than finding a fisherman in Yarmouth (and that's saying something). I picked a quaint café that doubled as a convenience store on the corner of a huge street.

The bell dinged as I went in. The cashier was an older man with glasses. He gave me a small smile as I walked up to the counter. I went on my tip toes, so I could see the menu

"Coming in before school for breakfast, I see." He chuckled, wiping down the counter. "What can I get for you?"

"Can I please have a—wait, school? It's Sunday." This weekend might've felt like the longest two days of my life, but when Daredevil _(I still can't wrap my head around that)_ found me, it was Saturday night.

"Poor kids, exams thee days are so much harder than when I went." He grabbed a newspaper from the rack and held it up for me to see. Sure enough, it said the date was Monday.

 _Shit._ I wasn't out for a few hours. I was out for over a day.

I took a deep breath. Breakfast would have to wait.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to eat now, but can you tell me how to get to Stark Tower?" I said quickly. Finding out you missed a day of your life really makes you want to hurry up.

"Stark Tower? Haven't heard much about that place in a while." He bent behind the counter and brought out a map of Manhattan. He pointed to a red _x;_ the location of his shop. "We're here, and if I'm not mistaken…" he trailed off and circled anther area on the map. "… Stark Tower is here, right across central park."

"How far would it take to walk?" I questioned.

"Walk? I'd say well over two hours. It would be easier taking the subway—"

I didn't hear him finish since I was already out the door. "Thank you!" I called out behind me.

0o0o0o0o

I had never really been in a park before, unless if a baseball diamond counted.

In Yarmouth, if you wanted nature you could literally just walk five minutes to the county line to reach the forest, or go east towards the marshes, or even walk 30 seconds to Water Street, which is directly beside the Bay of Fundy. There was no tall skyscrapers or pollution.

New York was the exact opposite.

I know what central park is. I know it's a huge plot of green in a city of grey, but not even pictures could prepare me for this.

It's freaking _huge._

I will admit by the time I reached the halfway point I should've almost been (if not) across but cut me some slack; first time in the Big Apple, and even if I _was_ running for my freedom, I didn't know when the next time would be I would be here.

Call it a sixth sense, if you will. At that moment, I knew something was off. I looked around widely, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary; no guys in black trench coats, no sinister people watching my every move…

 _Wait._ Those two-people handing out flyers in the middle of the path. The man and the woman.

I felt like I knew them. Not necessarily _evil,_ but I couldn't take any chances. I pulled my hood over my head and walked by the blonde-haired woman who was currently talking to a young teenager. I walked so close by her that I almost brushed her side, trying to hear what she what she was saying.

"… Yes please. If you think even in the slightest that it's her, please give us a call. We just want Carter back."

 _Shit shit shit._ I instantly sprinted, trying to put as much distance between me and those people.

When I reached a small pond, I sat at a bench, trying to catch my breath. I overreacted, but this entire weekend has been terrible. Hell, I don't even know if my mom's alive…

"Stop." I said aloud. "Wondering's not going to help, so don't do it." Still, I felt tears pooling in my eyes. Swearing, I wiped my eyes and stood up trying to focus on something else, like why those people were looking for me. Thankfully, I got a distraction almost immediately.

The couple must've been hanging flyers around here too; there was one taped to a nearby lamppost. I went over to read it.

There was that same picture of me that was on my passport, which was very unsettling, since I still didn't know _when_ the hell that was taken). At the top it had missing in big red letters. Under the picture it had some information:

 _Age:15_

 _Height: 4 11"_

 _Hair Colour: brown_

 _Eye colour: blue_

 _If spotted, please contact Nadia Ramone at 555-259-4369_

I tugged my hood down further over my eyebrows. Why were these random strangers looking for me? If they were part of the government, they would have just put this on the news station instead of handing out flyers.

I also couldn't hake the feeling that I should know them, even though I didn't see much of the man, the woman (Nadia, I think her name was?) was definitely familiar. Where did I know them from?

Since it was a distraction, I racked my brain for any memory of the woman but couldn't find any.

Before I knew it, I was at the other end of central park, and I could see Stark tower rise over the skyline.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I smiled.

0o0o0o0o

For school last year, we had to do a "free choice" 5000-word essay for English class. You could write about any topic you wanted to, from cats to poverty to sports.

My friend Brooke chose Tony Stark.

She wrote about how a man who was once heartless and only cared about money turned into someone who fought for others, but later became a sad drunkard who was only able to run a company because of his girlfriend.

It ended up being over 7000 words, which basically told the story of his life, from the moment he became Iron Man to where he was today, living like a hermit in Stark Tower, only occasionally speaking to the press.

I loved helping her do the research; it was amazing, what one man could accomplish if he put his mind to it; a playboy turned hero.

When I reached the high-tech building, I realized I didn't have a plan to meet with him. He never talked to anyone; the closest you could get would be to pepper Potts, who has been the CEO of Stark Indrusties even before his downwards spiral.

I sighed and plopped down at the curb, trying to come up with a plan.

 _Think Carter. If I was Tony Stark, why would I meet with a 15-year-old girl who says she's the daughter of an avenger, but all the proof she has is a necklace…_

Wait. An idea popped into my head.

Cruel? Probably. Unlikely it would work? You bet, but it was the only plan I had.

This won't work, I thought as I walked into the Stark Industries base.

0o0o0o0o

When I walked into the lobby, I was shocked.

The ceilings were at least 10 metres tall, and everything was steel, except the carpet on the floor, which was white.

It took me a few seconds to spot the visitor desk, which was at quite far away from my current position; across the huge lobby.

I walked across the lobby, getting dirty looks. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes, which probably made me look suspicious in my battered jeans and sweater. I couldn't worry about that now, though.

I walked up to the desk, which was short enough to me to see the woman behind it, who was typing furiously at her desktop. I waited for about 3 minutes before she finally acknowledged I was there.

"How may I help you?" She wrinkled her nose and frowned. _(well I'm sorry if I smell like shit. Sort lost my deodorant when I got stabbed.)_

"Hi. I need to talk to Pepper Potts." Better not to ask for Stark directly if I don't want to get thrown out on the curb.

"Get lost, kid. I don't have time for this."

Here it goes.

"Sorry, but I think it's urgent. You see, I've lived with my mother all my life, and she past away from cancer last month. She never told me who my father was, until she passed away. She said Tony Stark. It was right after he broke up with Miss Potts, and just a one-night stand. You know, right before half the avengers got put in jail?"

She must've been trying to figure out if I was lying or not, because she didn't answer for a few moments. "Look, kid, I can't bother Miss Potts with something like this. It's not like you would get money or anything anyways."

"Please, Madame." I started crying (which wasn't too hard, considering the amount if stress I've been under for the last two days). "It took me forever to get away from the orphanage. She was my last family member. I can't afford a DNA test, and I don't want to go to a family that I don't know."

I didn't think it worked. The woman just looked annoyed, and I was positive she was going to call security on me.

However, she just sighed and pressed a button on her desk; a pager.

"Yes?" A feminine voice asked through the device.

"Sorry to bother you Miss Potts, but you have a visitor."

"Who is it?"

"You might want to see for yourself. I can send her up."

"I swear to God if it's another one of Tony's old hookups wanting money just kick her to the curb."

The teller winced. "Not exactly."

Miss Potts must've realized what that meant, because she took quite a bit to answer.

"Send her up. I don't have any meetings today anyways. Might as well have a little bit of humour today."

On that hopeful note, the teller called for a security guard to escort me to one of the several elevators along the right wall.

He ushered me inside the elevator, which was bigger than my entire living room. He swiped his key card and pressed the button leading to the very top floor. I fidgeted with my necklace; I was beyond thankful that I put it on and hadn't taken it off.

"How old are you?" He asked as we rose.

"18." I lied. "My mother and Tony were together just before the Sokovian Accords." I knew for a fact that he and Pepper broke up for a short window.

He nodded. We were silent for rest of the ride up.

When the elevators doors opened, there was an older woman with fiery orange hair in front of the elevator.

Pepper Potts.

"Leave us." The security guard nodded, and I walked out of the elevator, trying to figure out where I go from here. The elevator doors shut, and I was left alone with one of the most famous (and feared) business person in the entire world.

She walked up to me until she was less than a meter away. She looked down at me, arms crossed.

"It's been years since the last girl came by, trying to get money. And you know what happens? Within an hour she's back on the curb. So, you want to save me some time and leave now?"

"I'm not his daughter." I said quickly. "But I didn't have any other idea to get up here. I need to meet Tony Stark."

"An interview? Really?"

"No. I need his help to find my parents."

She gave me a confused look. "Excuse me?"

"Before my mother got captured, she told me I had to find Tony Stark, and show him this necklace." I unclasped it and held it up. "I don't know what to do. This is my last chance. If you make me leave, I won't have anywhere to go." My voice cracked on the word _go_. She looked so unimpressed, so annoyed that I was there. "I can't go to the police, because there's a good chance they'll lock me up, and I don't any family besides my mother. You knew my parents, and I need you to help me find them." The tears were flowing down my face now. "Please, Miss Potts. Help me."

Her eyes went from slightly angry to pity. She came closer, bent over, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go talk, okay?"

And that's how I ended up having a morning tea with Pepper Potts on the first of October.

0o0o0o0o

"—and then I told the secretary that I was Tony's kid, and I can't believe it worked, but now I'm here." I took a deep breath. I had been explaining the events of the last few days for over half an hour, with miss Potts listening intently, only occasionally taking sip from her mug.

After I finished speaking, she looked at me, worry in her eyes. "You poor girl. What did you say your name was again?"

"My name is Carter." I answered.

She reached across the counter that we were sitting at and grabbed my hand. "Well Carter, why don't you go down the hall and get washed up while I find some new clothes for you to wear, okay?" She smiled at me.

"Okay." I followed her down a long hallway and she opened a door to the left. Inside was a lavished bathroom bigger than my bedroom.

"The door beside the sink leads to a spare bedroom. By the time you get back there'll be clothes there, okay sweetie?" I nodded, and she left, closing the door behind her.

When she left I blinked. Was I dreaming? I pinched myself. I guess not.

Maybe all my bad luck is gone. I thought to myself as I turned on the shower. Maybe everything will be okay.

 _Yeah right._

0o0o0o0o

When Pepper shut the door to the bathroom, she groaned and put her head in her hands.

"What were you thinking?" She chastised herself. "Why didn't you kick her out as soon as she showed up?"

The problem was, Pepper didn't know. Maybe it was the eyes; she recognized them. She didn't know who, but if the girl was telling the truth, then she knew who it was.

Steve Rogers.

 _Could he still be alive?_ She wondered. _Could he have really settled down and had a child? She knew he supposedly died in a plane crash, but Tony didn't believe that._

 _He wouldn't survive a plane crash 75 year ago, only to be killed in one. He's staying hidden, as he should. She remembered Tony saying when the news got let out._

"Shit." Muttered Pepper as she walked towards the staircase. "What will Tony say?"

He'd been a wreck for the last 18 years, ever since the avengers broke up, ever since he even helped a few be in jail.

Wanda was his biggest regret. She was only a child, sent to live the rest of her days in a straitjacket, never to be let free. Those first few days after the battle were the hardest. He didn't sleep at all.

When they escaped he got a little better, even went down to his workshop. Unfortunatly, it didn't stay that way for long. Steve "died', Sam got recaptured, and Clint was still inprisoned.

God knows where Vision went (Tony speculates to look for Wanda but isn't certain). Now the only ones he talks to are Rhodey, Happy and I. He'll go out once in a while, so the press doesn't go mad, but other than that he stays in his workshop, trying to find where everyone went, and if their safe, looking at articles, YouTube videos, and even tweets of alleged sightings (so far they've all been false).

Most of his workshop is covered in dust, not being touched in over a decade.

And that's where I'm heading now. I walked down the stairs, my heels clicking with every step I took.

When I reached the bottom, I spotted him in his chair, fingers flying over the keys of his computer.

"Tony?" His chair spun around to face me. "We need to talk."

"Oh, is this this about the girl upstairs that claims to be a child of the Avengers?" He crossed his arms over his chest, looking annoyed.

I winced. "How much did F.R.I.D.A.Y tell you?"

"She alerted me a soon as she entered the penthouse. I watched the entire thing. What kind of guardian sends her child to find an ex-avenger. Who's mother still probably wants to kill me in several different ways."

Pepper was taken aback. "Wait, you know who she's the daughter of?"

"Obviously. As soon as she said her name I looked her up." He raised his hands and a hologram of a newspaper appeared between us. "Murdered her mother. What a bunch of shit. I bet Secretary Ross himself had a hand in this."

Pepper skimmed the article, tears forming in her eyes. "Do you think she really killed her mother?"

"I'm sorry, did you not just hear what I said? The government definitely made that up. She ran away from, Yarmouth, was it?" He glanced at the article. "Yes, Yarmouth. She ran away and knowing that she stayed under the radar for 15 years, they know they have no hope without the general public, so they tell everyone to be on the lookout for a small 15-year-old girl who is dangerous."

Pepper gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "She told me she doesn't know if her mother is dead or not. The poor thing."

" _Miss Potts, you were supposed to be getting the girl clothes."_ F.R.I.D.A.Y. reminded Pepper.

"When I go do that, you make yourself look presentable." Ordered Pepper, turning and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Meet us in the living room in 15 minutes."

"Why should I do this? Last time I saw her father he almost killed me, and not by accident either." Tony grumbled.

Pepper whipped her head back to face Tony. "Wait. Her parents are…" She was too shocked to finish her sentence.

He looked at her, the only emotion on his face pure and utter regret.

"Non-other than that assistant you used to have and my best friend."

0o0o0o0o

I stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed. _So this is what being rich feels like, taking a shower for as long as you want._ In my small town, you couldn't have more than a five minute shower for fear that the well would run dry, especially in the summer.

I went to wrap a tower around my hair, until remembering I had cut it. _8 years of growing it out for nothing_. I thought as I dried it quickly with a towel.

After wrapping a towel around my body, I walked into the bedroom Mis Potts had showed me.

It was huge, with vaulted ceilings and a giant window facing Central Park (or above t, since it was like a speck on the ground). It was painted a sky blue, with a double bed in the center.

I walked to the bed, where deodorant (thank god), underwear, a huge t-shirt and track pants were, along with the arrow necklace. After clasping it around my neck, I held up the shirt to take a look at it. Nirvana. Huh. _I guess I'll just have to wash my clothes later,_ I thought as I got dressed. I went to the mirror to take a look at myself.

I look like a hobo. Everything was too big, but a least it was clean. The sad part was that I looked better in this than I had for the last few days. I combed through my hair with my fingers, which looked like I cut it with a hacksaw. I shrugged. At least I looked halfway decent.

" _Miss Carter."_ A feminine voice startled me. I looked around the room, but I was the only one there. "Who said that?"

" _I am F.R.I.D.A.Y, Mr. Stark's A.I. assistant. I was told to let you know Miss Potts is on her way back, so make sure you look decent."_

"No way!" I exclaimed, turning in a circle, trying to locate the control pad that I knew was somewhere in here. "The coding must've taking years! I tried to do a project on you in grade 5!" I spotted the pad beside the bed and ran to it. "You're a science miracle, able to not only understand human speech, but obey it!" I was looking at the multiple commands on the pad; the possibilities were endless.

"I see you've met F.R.I.D.A.Y." I turned to see Miss Potts leaning against the door frame.

"It's amazing." I started walking towards her. "So what happens now?"

She sighed. "Now you find out who your parents are."

"Who are they?" I drummed my fingers against my thigh, getting nervous.

"I think you should hear it from him." It didn't take a genius to figure out who him was.

"I get to meet Tony Stark?" I asked, dumbfounded.

She nodded. "It's best for him to tell you. Follow me." She walked out of the room, and it took me a moment to follow her, since I was just told I was meeting the best engineer in the world.

We walked back to the living room, which was dark. Even though one entire wall was window, dark grey clouds had gathered in the sky, making it seem like evening even though it was still before noon.

As my eyes adjusted, I could make out the silhouette of a man standing beside the ginormous fireplace, holding a photo.

He looked up and smiled grimly at me.

"You look like them." He clapped. The lights turned on.

Standing in front of me was Tony Stark.

0o0o0o0o

"Mr. Stark." I managed to spit out. He used to be my idol back when I still wanted to be an engineer.

"Are you just going to stand there?" he placed the photo back on the mantle and crossed his arms. "Not going to ask any questions, or thank me for letting you enter my humble home? I can still kick you out."

I didn't know if he was joking or not.

"Tony, be nice." I heard Pepper say from behind me.

"Who are my parents?" I managed to get out, removing my necklace. I held it up and walked closer to him. "Do you know who they are?"

He snorted. "I used to." I waited for him to go on.

"When she started wearing that necklace, I would tease her, saying she had a thing with Clint." He let out a humourless laugh. "I wholeheartedly believed that they were an item until she ended up just being an aunt to his kids."

I was too shocked to say anything. He walked over and sat on a couch before continuing,

"You have his eyes, but you have her face." He paused. "I think your height and build also came from him, pre-serum of course."

My brain stopped.

 _Pre-serum._ There was only one person ever in history describe that way, and only one avenger who was ever speculated to have a relationship with Hawkeye.

"They… they are…"

It would've taken a while for me to get the whole sentence out, but luckily he finished it for me.

"Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, the soldier and the spy."

0o0o0o0o

"Sir, we found her." Walters walked over to look at the computer. This agent was looking at cameras in central park, trying to find the girl.

He stared at the screen. The time said 9:00 A.M. A short person was walking with her head down, hoodie up, hands shoved in pockets.

"This proves nothi—" he stopped, because at that moment, she looked straight at the camera.

It was her eyes. The terrible eyes of an enhanced

"What direction was she heading in?" He demanded.

"We found her on a few more surveillance videos throughout Central Park. She entered Stark Tower at about 11:45."

"Where in Stark Tower is she?"

"Sir, we've tried hacking into the security, but it's impossible. There's some kind of A.I that keeps blocking our every attempt."

"Well than try harder." He snapped.

"We've had our best programmers working on it for the past 2 hours. It's not working."

He sighed. "I guess we'll have to hold Mr. Stark guilty of aiding a known fugitive." He rubbed his temple. "Too bad, I always admired him as a child."

He tapped his ear piece. "We found her. Get to Stark Tower and bring back-up."

 **0o0o0o0o**

 **Author's note: Before I say anything else, a quick shout out to the author of "Light and Sweet", a Bucky/oc fanfic in the "Captain America" category on here. The idea for how Carter would get to meet Tony Stark came directly from this fic, so check it out! It's very well written and not one of those ones** **fanfiction that don't make any sense whatsoever.**

 **Sorry if this seemed like a pretty unrealistic chapter, since a lot of the event of this chapter was left up to luck, but I wanted to give Carter a break.**

 **Last but not least, this ends part one of MNIC part one. I don't know when this will next be updated, anywhere between tomorrow and 3 weeks. The reason for this is that I have no idea where the story is going from here, I have so many different paths for Carter to travel on, but she can only walk on one. A few weeks is just what I need to get my thoughts in order.**

 **Rest assured that I am finishing MNIC, but feel free to leave your theories, and even requests if you have any ideas! I love hearing from you guys! You've made my bad days great by seeing how many of you enjoy my writing.**

 **See you in a few weeks!**

 **(I don't know if any of my readers are artists, but I'm looking for a new cover for MNIC. You can PM me if you have any ideas)**

 **-Ahsoka101**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: Infinity War just killed me. I'm surprised I was able to get this chapter out, considering how heartbroken I am.**

 **Don't worry; since this is in an AU it will contain absolutely no spoilers for Infinity War. #thanosdemandsyoursilence.**

 **And now…**

 **I present to you…**

 **Part two of My Name is Carter!**

0o0o0o0o

I'm embarrassed.

I don't know why, considering what just happened.

I stared at Mr. Stark, thinking he was lying. He _had_ to be lying.

I did my research. Natasha Romanoff was sterilized by a secret organization. It wasn't possible.

Not to mention Captain America was _dead._

But looking at Tony Stark, all I saw was true sadness on his face.

And then…

I fainted. Right in front of the biggest genius in the world.

Right in the middle of Stark Tower. I'm not proud of it but considering that I just went from having a normal life with my mother to being the daughter of two superheroes, I'd say it was pretty acceptable.

0o0o0o0o

"Gah!" I sat bold upright to someone rubbing a cool cloth on my forehead.

"You okay, sweetie?" Asked a concerned Pepper Potts who was kneeling beside the couch I was on.

I shook my head, Tony Stark's last sentence hitting me like a semi-ton truck.

"No." I said in a squeaky voice.

I heard someone snort. "No Pepper she's doing fine. How the hell do you think she'd be doing?"

"Says the man who just blurted out her real parents. I thought you were suppose to be smart?" She shot back, turning to face the billionaire, who was standing a few meters away beside the coffee table, arms crossed and eyes shooting daggers at me.

"How else should I have done it? Plain. Simple. Easy." He shrugged and turned to me. "Now, I don't know about you two but I'm hungry." He turned and started to walked down the hall to the kitchen was.

When Stark turned the corner Pepper sighed and placed her hand on mine. "I'm sorry for Tony. He…" She was trying to choose her words carefully. " _Regrets_ what happened between him and your parents."

"The Civil War." I said aloud. We learned about it in grade 7 economics. The Sokovian accords. Although many events that happened were unknown, the biggest news story was the fallout between the two leaders of the team.

She nodded solemnly. "Are you hungry?" I mumbled a yes, my throat feeling dry.

"Then let's go eat." I stood up on shaky legs and started following her in the direction that Tony Stark went.

A million thoughts were racing through my head. _Some girls in my class thought my dad was hot. Some guys in my class thought my dad was hot. Hell, some parents probably thought my dad was hot._ I almost gagged at that thought.

 _Natasha Romanoff. Killer of hundreds. She was my mom._ But she had surgery, I thought it wasn't possible for her to have children?

"Carter?" Pepper said gently. I had stopped walking, the events of the last few days finally beginning to make sense.

They found me because of that stupid article in the newspaper. It said I was healed in record breaking time when I should've been in the hospital for days. They've probably been looking for me for _years._

I put a hand against the wall to steady myself, it didn't help. I slid down and leaned against it, breathing fast. I heard Miss Potts call for Tony and her footfalls getting farther and farther away.

I bent over, feeling dizzy suddenly. I was _not_ going to faint again for the second time this afternoon.

Those two people handing out flyers at the park. Could they be my parents?

My mother protected me for years, but from what? Experiments, from the superhuman running through me?

 _This is some weird Luke Skywalker shit._

"Why do they want me so badly?" I whispered, head between my knees. "Why would they do this?"

"I thought you were supposed to be smart?" I heard a man's voice say. "I think you can figure it out. Why would the government want the child of two criminals who haven't been seen in almost two decades?" Stark asked.

My head shot up. The picture was becoming clearer and clearer, coming more and more into focus.

"To lure them in." I said aloud, surprised at how strong my voice sounded. The billionaire was kneeling in front of me, about a foot away. "They're a loose cannon until the government gets a hold of them. They won't give themselves up easy, unless if it was something they care about a lot."

"You are smart." ( _Jesus, if this was under any_ _other circumstances I probably would've fainted if the greatest genius in the world called me smart_ ).

I frowned. "But it won't work. How could they love something that they've never met?"

"I take it back." He groaned and rubbed his temple. "You see kid, parents would do anything for their children; it doesn't matter how far away or how long it's been, or how many fights you've had. They love you. Believe me. I know from experience."

I didn't have anything to say to that.

"Well, I think we should get you some food before you faint again. Let's go." He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

The next few hours were the most relax I had been in days.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 **And there's the kickoff to MNIC part 2! I have deleted, rewrote, cut, and rewrote this chapter more times than I could keep track of. Nothing seemed right. At first there was this whole other part going on with Steve and Natasha before Carter was born, but I decided to put it in the next chapter instead.**

 **Here's where you guys vote; next chapter can be another filler with Steve and Natasha, when Natasha was pregnant with Carter (since most of you are probably confused as to how Natasha can get pregnant), OR we can jump right into the action and reunion. (If we do the reunion instead, I will post a collection of MNIC one shots after I finish this fic, so it won't be for a while).**

 **Remember to review with which one you like better!**

 **P.S. If you are suffering from Infinity War as much as me, you can read my other story Endgame. Find it on my profile.**

 **-Ahsoka101**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Based on those who have reviewed, this is going to be a filler chapter.**

 **PSA: When you have a project that your teacher give's you a month and a half in advance, DO NOT LEAVE IT UNTIL THE LAST WEEK! Sorry that this chapter is out so late. Life happens, unfortunately.**

 **Regarding Natasha's ability to conceive:**

 **I can't even try to tell you how long I looked for information on Black Widow and the procedure for this chapter. Unfortunately, I knew all the information already. More on the procedure to make her sterile in the actual story. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.**

 **Also, a head up that I'm a teenager, so I don't know exactly what happens at doctor offices when people are pregnant, and I wanted to get this chapter out ASAP, so sorry for inaccuracy.**

 **There are a lot of time jumps in this chapter, too, so I apologize for any confusion it may cause.**

 **P.S. My Name is Carter will now be updated every weekend, anywhere between Friday to Sunday EST.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **0o0o0o0o**

When they entered the hotel room, Natasha barely bothered taking off her shoes before flopping onto the bed closest to the door.

"I haven't slept in a real bed for days. I'm never getting up." She stretched and let out ta yawn.

Steve gave her a weak smile. "So, does that mean I get to take first shower?"

Natasha just mumbled something and rolled over, pulling the blankets over her body.

 _She must be exhausted_. Thought Steve as he placed his bag on the other bag and grabbed a clean pair of boxers and a t-shirt from it. _She was looking for Carter even before I knew she was in danger._

He went to the small but modern bathroom and turned on the shower. When the water warmed up, he stepped into the shower and thought about today's events.

The flyers didn't help one bit. It was a stupid idea in the first place, to be honest. New York was one of the biggest cities in the world, and it would be such a small chance that someone would recognize her.

He probably wouldn't have recognized her if she stared him right in the face.

And then the what-ifs started going through his head.

 _Would she have been better with him and Natasha?_ He knew from experience that growing up without a parent was terrible, but Shannon was an amazing person, he knew she gave Carter things that he and Natasha never could…

 _That just got her six feet under._

 _He_ got her there.

And now his daughter was in danger and he didn't even know…

"Stop it." He punched the tile, trying to ignore the thoughts going through his head.

After making sure he didn't break the title (that would've been hard to explain when they checked out) he shut the water off and got dressed.

Going back into the hotel room, he was surprised to see Natasha already asleep. She was on her back, one arm over her head and hair sprawled around her head.

He missed her. So much. But he need to give her space.

He silently got into the other bed and turned off the light, hoping to get a decent amount of sleep before the morning.

0o0o0o0o

Unfortunately, sleep evaded him.

Groaning, he turned onto his side to look at the bedside digital clock. It read 1:37.

He heard a sigh from the bed beside him. A few seconds later footsteps followed.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he felt the covers being thrown back and Natasha crawling int bed with him.

"Something like that." She mumbled as she wriggled into his side.

Finally, Steve was able to fall asleep with Natasha beside him, but Natasha's mind went back to a time 16 years ago.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _ **16 years earlier**_

It wasn't possible.

It just wasn't.

The Red Room made it very clear. The procedure was effective. There would never be a little Natasha junior running around the apartment.

But she was late…

 _That could be stress,_ reasoned Natasha with herself.

 _Bullshit._ Natasha's cycle had always been longer than most, but it had been over 50 days since her last period. She hadn't even noticed until she realized the box of tampons behind the mirror had been there for almost two months while cleaning the bathroom.

She didn't dare tell Steve. Telling him would mean getting his hopes up…

And it's not like they could raise a child like this. It was too risky.

Why was she even thinking she was pregnant? It wasn't possible.

She just had to hope Steve didn't find out.

 **0o0o0o0o**

Obviously, he knew something was up within two days that Natasha started worrying.

"Shouldn't you be on your period right now?" he asked her when he walked into the kitchen after work one day.

Natasha didn't look up from where she was currently cutting up onions for supper (it only took her two years to figure out how to make a decent meal without poisoning someone).

"What the hell would you know about a woman's body, Steve?" It came out harsher than she meant, but whatever. Anything to get him off her case.

"You avoided the question." He said softly. He walked over and placed a hand on her arm. "Do you think—"

"Fine, I'm late, but it doesn't mean… that. The Red Room was very clear. You _know_ that."

"Nat."

She sighed and put the spoon on the counter. "Look. I know for a fact its not… _that,_ and it's not worth getting your hopes up."

"It's the most logical explanation."

"But it's also impossible. Say I did happen to be… _that._ What would we even do? We can't raise a child and put their life in danger anyways."

"But—"

"Just drop it, please." She hated sounding like she was begging, but he knew this was a sensitive topic.

"Okay Nat, I'll drop it. But if you don't get it in three days, you're taking a pregnancy test. Deal?"

"I'm only saying yes because it's _not. Going. To. Happen."_ She mumbled.

0o0o0o0o

It happened.

Three days later and her underwear still showed no sign of Satan visiting her.

Natasha frowned as she got ready for the day, brushing her blonde hair.

"Maybe it's menopause." She said allowed, because maybe if she said it in real life instead of her head it would make it true.

Even she didn't believe herself.

When she finished in the bathroom she opened the door to see Steve standing there, frowning.

"There is such a thing as knocking, Steve." She reminded him. She tried to walk past, but he blocked her way.

"Get out of the way. I have to go to work." Instead of answering, he held up a plastic bag from the drugstore across the street. You didn't need to be a genius to know what was inside.

"I'm not pregnant." Natasha said in an angry voice. She was done with this shit. She'd gotten her hopes up last time and look where that ended up.

Instead of getting angry, Steve placed the bag down on the floor and put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Then humor me. If you know your not pregnant then it's not a big deal."

 _Screw this_. Thought Natasha as she crouched down and snatched the bag from the floor. _I'm Natasha Romanoff._ She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door. _The Black Widow. Best espionage agent in the world. I can take one fucking pregnancy test._

Putting on her brave face, she followed the instructions and then placed the small stick on the vanity, waiting for the result.

The few minutes felt like an eternity, but it finally finished.

She picked it up and looked at the little screen.

Two lines.

Natasha just stared at it in disbelief. _This must be a mistake_. Steve grabbed four tests from the store just in case, and within the next ten minutes they were all showing the same result.

She was pregnant.

 _No no no no no no._ the same word kept flashing through Natasha's mind. She suddenly felt light-headed. She slid down the wall of the bathroom until she was sitting on the cool tile with the latest test in her shaking hand.

Steve knocked on the door. "Nat? Are you alright?"

She didn't answer, because no. she was not _all right._

"I'm coming in." He opened it to see his partner sitting on the floor, not even paying attention to him and staring at the side of the bathtub.

He immediately bent over and placed a hand on her cheek. "What's wrong?" He asked, even though the answer was pretty obvious.

The four tests he bought were all used, all showing the same sign.

"You're pregnant." He stated, dumbfounded.

She didn't deny it.

A small smile formed, and soon formed into a huge grin. "You're pregnant!" He pulled her in for a hug, his face deep in her hair.

She hesitantly returned it, the first time she acknowledged that he was even here.

He pulled away and smiled at her. "We're having a baby."

And for the first time since finding out, Natasha smiled weakly.

"I suppose we are."

0o0o0o0o

She needed to see a doctor. That was certain.

The problem was finding a doctor that wouldn't make Natasha give birth in a high security prison.

A few days later Steve was able to contact Maria Hill, who was on a business trip for Stark Industries.

She was Natasha's closest friend at one point; they had kept in contact through the mail, since Tony could (and probably would) look through Maria's emails. _He probably was._ Thought Steve as he opened the envelope from Maria.

After deciphering the letter, Steve found that there was a doctor at a clinic a few blocks from where they lived.

He got up from the kitchen table to see if Natasha was awake (it was past midnight and she had work in the morning).

He knocked on their bedroom door gently and opened it. He was shocked to see her still up, standing at the window.

He walked up silently behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head.

"Shouldn't you be in bed.?" He asked her gently. He knew she hadn't been able to sleep since they found out. "You must be exhausted."

She shrugged. "Probably." She yawned and placed a hand on her stomach; something she'd been doing often over the last few days. "Any news from Hill?"

"That's why I came in. There's an old S.H.I.E.L.D doctor that now works right in town. Hill trusts her, so we should call tomorrow."

She sighed. "I'll call the office tomorrow during work." She paused. "So, I guess this is really happening then? Even though it shouldn't be possible?"

Steve snorted. "You really think anything is impossible after what we've been through?"

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _3 days later_

Natasha was nervous.

She was waiting until Steve got home to go to her appointment. Time was moving torturously slow (she could've sworn it's been 10 minutes, but according to the clock only 3 had actually passed).

She started pacing between the living room and the kitchen. She didn't even _want_ a child.

 _That's a lie_. Argued a voice in her head.

 _I want a kid._ Corrected Natasha. _Just not under these circumstances._ If her and Steve were still Avengers, it might be dangerous, but at least they would have many allies and even more to protect the kid. Now they had the entire UN looking for them, and those were only the legal organizations.

She didn't even hear the front door open. She heard a floorboard creak behind her and within seconds a knife was held to Steve's throat, his back against the wall. "Where did you even get that knife from?" He asked incredously.

She dropped it shakenly. "Sorry. Didn't hear you come in." She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get a hold of her emotions.

Steve looked at Natasha worriedly. "You okay?"

She glared at him. "What do you think?"

He gulped. "Sorry. I'll just go get changed. Meet you downstairs." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Love you." He went to their bedroom to change out of his uniform.

Natasha grabbed a red wool sweater and walked down to the lobby of the apartment building. It wasn't long until Steve came down too.

"Would you like to walk or drive? If we walked it would only take 20 minutes."

"Walk please." He nodded and took her hand as they exited the small apartment building.

They were silent for the walk that felt like an eternity, both of them worrying about all the things that could go wrong.

What if Maria was wrong? What if this doctor is actually an FBI agent, and he wants to take the child away for—" Natasha ended the thought, refusing to finish it.

The way Steve tightened his grip on her hand, she figured he was thinking along the same lines.

Finally, they reached the little office building.

 **0o0o0o0o**

"Nina Wilson?" Someone calling her alias snapped Natasha out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" Answered Steve.

The older woman who must've been the doctor smiled. "Come on in." They followed her into a small, windowless office. Besides a bed and a desk, there was also a plastic chair and what Natasha guessed to be an ultrasound machine.

"There aren't any cameras or listening devices in here, so you don't need to worry about anyone hearing us, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Rogers." Said the doctor after she shut the door.

She held out her hand for Steve to shake, then to Natasha. "Krystal Cartier. Former scientist before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. I worked with the enhanced." She gave Steve a smile. "You were still in ice when I came here. It's nice to finally meet you."

She gestured for Natasha to sit on the bed. "After I made enough money, I started a small business here for those who can't afford the expensive hospitals. When Maria came to see me, I accepted right away, even if I don't usually deal with pregnancy." She turned to Natasha as Steve sat down in the chair opposite the bed.

"Can you lift up your shirt, please?" Natasha obeyed.

Cartier took a quick look. "How long could you have been pregnant for?"

Natasha thought for a minute. "I haven't had my period in almost two months, so anything in that time span really."

Cartier nodded. "Let's do an ultrasound, then?" She rubbed some sort of goo on Natasha lower abdomen and place a handheld device over it. She gestured to the machine behind her. "In a few seconds a black and white image will appear on the screen." Sure enough a grainy picture showed up on the screen.

"Is that—" Steve couldn't believe it.

"See that little shape in the middle?" She pointed to a white spot on the screen. "That's the baby."

Natasha shook her head and sat up, feeling slightly dizzy. "That's not possible."

"If you look at the screen—"

"You don't understand. It's not possible. Didn't you read my files?"

The doctor gave her a look and adjusted hr glasses. "Indeed, I did, Miss Romanoff." She grabbed her clipboard and flipped through a few pages. "It says here you were sterilized with a common procedure that they still use today to prevent conception."

"You see, the procedure they used makes it almost impossible to conceive, with a 0.01% success rate every time you participate in intercourse. I don't think there is a case in which a woman was able to conceive after the surgery." Cartier paused to let that sink in.

"However, considering the super-human serum that Captain Rogers has, it isn't as far fetched as one would believe. I won't know for certain without doing tests. It _is_ possible that his serum was able to overcome the barriers that the operation put in place. I would do a few tests to see if that is really the case, but I don't want to hurt the child."

Natasha didn't say anything for a few moments. Finally, she took a shaky breath. "We can't raise a child in our situation." She looked at Steve. "It's too dangerous."

The doctor gave her a sympathetic look. "I have an appointment right now, but feel free to call for any information or to make another appointment." Without another word she left the room, closing the door with a click.

Natasha stood up from the bed abruptly.

"This cant be happening. This isn't possible." She placed a hand on the wall, feeling light-headed.

In a split-second she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go home. We can talk about it there." Placing a hand around he waist he helped her stand upright.

"I'll call a cab. Let's go outside. That'll make you feel better." Natasha nodded, and they walked out of the office, Natasha leaning on Steve.

When they made it outside Natasha took a deep breath of air and sat on the curb.

After Steve called the cab he plopped down beside his partner. "I guess it's official now." He put an arm around her shoulders. "We're going to be parents."

"We can't raise a child." She rolled her eyes at the frightened look on his face. "Jesus Steve, I don't mean _that,_ but once it's born." She placed a hand on her lower stomach. "We're going to have to put it up for adoption."

"I know." He squeezed her shoulder. "But just for today, let's pretend we're a normal couple, ecstatic that were going to be parents."

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _Four months later_

Natasha wrapped the scarf tighter around her head as she walked down the busy street. They'd been here for so long. Someone should've found them by now.

She hadn't been sleeping well for the last few weeks. She hadn't had nightmares since Ultron several years ago, but now they were plaguing her nightly.

Sometimes it was about her past, sometimes about the Red Room coming back for her, but usually it was about her losing the child.

They would come in the night, stealing the child from the crib. Steve would try to stop them, only to be killed. Instead of killing Natasha, they would make her watch them take the small, defenceless child. She knew they were going to experiment on it, but all she could do was watch.

She refused to call the child anything other than "it". What was the point in getting attached if she would just lose it in the end?

She knew Steve noticed, but he never acknowledged her choice of words. He was usually able to understand her reasoning without speaking. It was what made them so compatible on missions.

A car honk snapped her out of her thoughts. She was going to see Doctor Cartier again for another ultrasound.

According to all the articles online, she should be able to see a bump by four months. She was now well into month five (from what Cartier could figure) and still there was no sign of a child that an outsider could see.

So far pregnancy hadn't seemed all that different from her normal life, either. Except from being a tiny bit more tired that usual, she hadn't experienced many normal side effects (thank god for no morning sickness). The doctor figured it had to do with the enhancements done to her years ago.

She walked into the now familiar waiting room for her ultra-sound and sat down in a plastic chair. Steve would meet her here in a few minute. They were both on edge; they hadn't been seen in the same public place in over two weeks.

"Nina Wilson?" The receptionist gave her a smile. "You can go in now." Natasha nodded to the man and walked into the ultrasound room.

"Miss Romanoff." Greeted the doctor as she closed the door. Sighing, Natasha removed the headscarf and sat down on the bed. "You weren't due for a visit until next week. What's wrong?"

"From what I've read online and from the book you gave me, I should be seeing a bump by now." Natasha lifted her shirt and rubbed her abdomen. "There's no sign of anything."

Cartier bit her lip. "The baby's probably just tiny." Natasha didn't think she sounded too convinced.

While Doctor Cartier was prepping Natasha for the ultrasound, Steve showed up. "What's the verdict?" He asked as he sat in the chair beside the bed.

"The child is probably just small." A few minutes later an image appeared on the screen.

As the doctor examined it, a few seconds felt like an eternity. What if she found something wrong?

Finally, she smiled at the couple. "The baby's fine. All her organs seem to be developing, even if everything is very small. I can also tell you the gender, if you would like to know."

"Do you?" Steve asked. She could tell he wanted to know.

For Natasha, however, it was the opposite. The more she heard about it, the more real this seemed, and the more attached she would get.

But she couldn't ignore the excitement in Steve's eyes. She shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Cartier smiled widely. "Congratulations. You're having a baby girl."

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _3 months later_

( _8 months pregnant)_

Natasha doesn't _do_ panic attacks.

The last time she had one was when Clint brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D.

However, when Steve showed her a cute little green outfit he bought for when she was born, she suddenly found it very hard to breath.

"Nat are you okay?" Steve dropped the article of clothing he had been holding to go place a hand on his partner's back.

She shook her head. A million thoughts were flying through her head, from how she' never get to see her daughter grow up to what would happen if she grew up unloved and _why can't she breathe?_

Luckily, Steve (having been in a war for years) had known the signs of a panic attack and wrapped an arm around her waist and led her out to their balcony.

He helped her into a chair, then kneeled in front of her so he was at eye level. "Copy me." He made sure she was looking at him and then took a deep breath in through his mouth, then out through his nose. Less than a minute later Natasha had calmed down.

"Better?" He asked.

"Better." She repeated.

She may be able to fool government officials, but not him. She was still freaking out, just a little less extreme now.

"What were you thinking about?" He inquired.

Natasha sighed and placed a hand on her small baby bump. _He won't let this go if I don't tell him._

"When you came in with that cute little outfit, I realized we'd never get to see her in it." Her voice sounded hollow; the closest Steve had ever seen her crying. "She'll never even know who we are."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I think my parents died in a fire, but for all I know those are fake memories planted by the Red Room. I don't want her going through that. I don't want her in that situation, wondering how her life would've different if her parents had kept her."

Steve wrapped her in a hug. "And she won't be in that situation. Maria is already working on finding her a family we can trust." He kissed her on top of her head. "And eventually when all this accords shit gets sorted out, we can meet her."

No matter how optimistic Steve tried to sound, Natasha didn't miss the sadness in his voice when he said that.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _One month later_

 _(9 months pregnant)_

Everything was sorted.

Mari was able to get in contact with Shannon Williams, a technician from S.H.I.E.L.D whom Natasha had worked with several times. She couldn't remember her very well, but Maria swore she could be trusted, and Natasha trusted Maria.

It was done.

While Natasha was packing up the apartment (it was a miracle they'd been able to stay in this small town for almost a year) she suddenly doubled over in pain, feeling like someone was trying to slice open her stomach.

 _Shit._ This can't be happening. She wasn't due for another week and a half!

Another wave of pain made her let out a scream. This was more painful than anything since the Red Room.

Steve ran in holding a gun, worried that someone had broken in. Instead, he saw Natasha leaning against the wall for support.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

She let out another scream as a third contraction hit. They weren't supposed to be this close together. It was supposed to take a while between contractions for a bit.

Steve ran to her and picked her up, even though he knew she hated being a damsel in distress. He carried downstairs, towards the car. He placed her in the passenger seat and did up her seatbelt.

After he started the car and pulled out of the parking space, Natasha started whispering in Russian. From his limited knowledge, he could guess that most of what she was saying was profanity.

She screamed again and doubled over. He grabbed her hand, which she proceeded to crush.

Finally, they made it to the hospital, he carried her into the waiting room, where she was immediately placed into a wheelchair and taken away. He tried to follow but a nurse stopped him.

"If you want to go in, you have to put these on." The man held up a pair of scrubs and a plastic hairnet. Steve immediately complied as he was lead to his partner's room.

"How long has she been in labour for?" Asked the doctor who was leaning over Natasha as she writhed in pain on the bed.

"Less than 30 minutes." Steve answered as he went to grab her hand.

"How the hell is she already at 14 centimetres?!" Asked a nurse, shocked.

Beofre the doctor could answer another scream pierced the air. "Just get her out of me!" Yelled Natasha, squeezing Steve's hand.

Less than 15 minutes later she was ready to start pushing.

Those 10 minutes that followed were the longest of Steve's life. He hated seeing her in pain. She wasn't crying, but she was probably pretty damn close.

Suddenly, a new wail pierced the air.

"Congratulations on your baby—" Suddenly, the doctor frowned. "Fuck." Without another word, the doctor took the baby out, not even giving Natasha and Steve a chance to hold her.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _Present day_

When Steve finally fell asleep, he dreamt of the day Carter was born.

They hadn't even been allowed to see her before the doctors and nurse whisked her away.

They later found out that she wasn't breathing properly and was so tiny they didn't think her lungs had developed.

When the couple had heard this, they didn't know what to do. The nurse promised that they would do all that they could to make sure their daughter survived, but it was a 50/50 chance.

Steve remembered telling Natasha it was his fault; his pre-serum body was so sickly that it was a miracle he made it past 30.

He remembered an exhausted Natasha telling him to stop being a dumbass, it wasn't his fault.

Somehow, by some miracle, a nurse came in less than an hour later holding a small pink bundle in his arms. He explained that miraculously the baby had suddenly started to breath normally. After doing a few tests the doctors concluded that she was as healthy as any full-grown baby, even if she was very small.

The nurse passed the little girl to Natasha, who was tired but sitting upright in the hospital bed.

She was sleeping so peacefully. Natasha cooed and rocked her daughter in her arms, looking happier than Steve had ever seen her before.

 _You're crying_. He remembered her telling him as she past him the little pink bundle.

 _Crying isn't weakness, it's strength._ He answered as he held the girl, his daughter, in his arms.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

On her birth certificate, they put her name was Mary Wilson. It wasn't real, of course. Just for now.

A few hours later, the couple left the hospital, surprised to see that the mother was already good to go.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 _Two hours later_

No way the day could get this messed up in the matter of a few hours.

Yet here they were, staring blankly at the burner phone that was now sitting on the table.

 _They found you_

Natasha hugged the baby closer to her chest. They were discussing names a few minutes before. Now it was time to run again.

It buzzed again.

 _Only Steve. You can still run._

If Maria had said Steve's name, they definitely knew; she wouldn't risk saying it if it was a maybe.

"No." Whispered Steve, gripping the edge of the table so hard Natasha wouldn't be surprised if he dented it.

Natasha couldn't move. The government thought Steve was dead. That was the plan. That was supposed to be the truth. They were planning to stay here for a few more days, and then get the official identifications from Maria that stated that Shannon William was her biological mother, then they'd travel to deliver their child.

Within seconds that plan was thrown out the window.

They stayed silent, unmoving.

Finally, Steve walked out of the room without a word. Natasha followed him a few seconds later.

"What are you doing?" She whispered as to not wake the child sleeping on her shoulder. He was throwing clothes into a duffel bag from the closet.

He gave her an angry look. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing your clothes, so you can leave. You need to take her to Shannon. You saw what Maria said. They only know I'm here."

If Natasha was like any other person, she probably would've said something along the lines of "not with you", or "we can find another way".

However, Natasha was not like any other person.

She was the Black Widow, and the Black Widow knew that sacrifices must be made.

She nodded. "I can pack. You watch her." She handed Steve the baby.

She went into what Clint use to call "inhuman mode." She had to put her feelings aside right now.

She pretended not to hear Steve whispering to their daughter, who was at that moment awake and fussing, likely sensing her parents distress.

A few minutes later she was all packed, complete with a baby bag full of supplies (diapers, bottles, etc.). She went to Steve and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

He nodded, handing her the baby. "We didn't even get to pick a name for her." He said quietly.

She didn't say anything back instead she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you, Steve."

He looked at her, eyes wide. She had never told him that. He knew it was too hard for her, to admit she formed a bond with someone. She showed her love in other ways; never by words.

"I love you too." He said quietly. With that, she was gone from his life once again.

 **0o0o0o0o**

Less than an hour later, Steve was packed up too, feeling hollow inside.

he just took the necessities, save for the photo album.

It had pictures of the avengers throughout the years. From team photos to pictures of Cint and Tony drunkenly kissing ( _that_ was a long story), everything was in there. Slowly the pictures grew from the original six to ones with over twelve people.

He flipped through it. How simple those days were, when it was easy to tell who your enemy was.

When he reached the last picture he felt tears trail down his face.

He didn't know when she added it, but the very last picture was a family one, taken less than ten hours ago.

It showed Natasha in a hospital bed, looking exhausted but smiling more brightly than Steve had ever seen. He was crouched beside her, with a little pink bundle in-between the two. He was smiling too, happier than he'd ever been before.

Now he'd never even know her name.

Shaking that thought out of his head, he shoved the album into his bag and left the small apartment, not sur of what laid in front of him.

He just knew this chapter of his life was over.

 **0o0o0o0o**

 **18 pages. That's almost triple the lengths of most of the chapters in this story. I know many parts of the hospital are definitely inaccurate, but come on, they're avengers, obviously it wouldn't be a regular pregnancy.**

 **I've decided that there will be two parts to MNIC, split into two separate stories. This half is coming to an end in just a few chapters, and the next part will be published sometime this summer.**

 **Would you like to see Spider-man in this story? If he was, it would have to be an AU where he wasn't in civil War. He would be the same age as Carter during MNIC, but still be mentored by Tony?**

 **(This fanfiction is prebaby the most farfetched AU I've ever heard of, but whatever)**

 **Remember to review, my friends.**


	13. Chapter 13

**First off, I can't believe how many reviews you left. I was so happy! Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed, followed, or favourited this story; without you, I would've stopped writing a long time ago.**

 **A warning that I screwed up the timeline last chapter, so the times will be inaccurate. I'll fix it eventually.**

 **I apologize in advance for this chapter. This is VERY VERY AU; civil war happened a bit differently, and you'll see why. Personally, I think you will like this new character in this story. I originally didn't plan on putting him in, but since Matt already made an appearance, I thought why not? The timeline is already messed up anyways.**

 **I had to make a very difficult choice this chapter. Please don't hate me.**

 **I'm so sorry.**

* * *

I said being in the Stark Tower for the next few hours were the most relaxed I'd been in the last few days, but honestly that wasn't saying much.

While we ate ( _how does a girl who weighs 90 pounds eat so much, Pepper?)_ Tony spent no time filling me in.

"By my guess the government will know you are here by at the latest…" he trailed off for a second. "About 2 hours. Even though they can't hack into my tower, they likely know you are in New York, and will waste no time checking security cameras."

"But what is even our objective here, Tony?" asked Pepper confused. "Are we trying to hide her or get her to meet Natasha and Steve?"

"No way I'm wasting valuable money and effort hiding _his_ kid. They didn't want to use protection, that's their problem now."

I almost choked on the grill cheese I was eating. Did the most famous playboy in history really just chastised America's golden boy for not using protection?

"But how do we do that?" I asked. "They might not even know what's happening right now."

"Clearly you don't know much about the Black Widow. She definitely knows you're in New York, since this was probably her plan since she put you with your guardian years ago." He took a sip from the glass of water he was drinking. "Unfortunately, I'll have to go through all the surveillance cameras in New York, which will not only be time consuming, but get the government here even faster."

"Wait a second." I suddenly remembered something. "While I was walking here through Central Park, there were two people handing out flyers about me. At first, I thought it was just government officials in disguise, but now I'm thinking it might actually be my parents." I almost jumped out of my seat in excitement.

"That would've helped if you told me earlier, but since it's past 9:00 at night now, they're long gone now."

"Don't you know any way to contact them? If my friend's research was correct, you and Captain— _My dad_ were the leaders of the Avengers. You have to have his email or something."

Pepper said " _yes_ " at the same time Tony said " _no_ ". they gave each other identical dirty looks.

"Tony. I know for a fact you never got rid of the burner phone."

"Yes, I did."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Bullshit. You would never do that." Carter was watching them exchange words like a tennis match, her head snapping back and forth each time one spoke.

"Fine, so maybe I didn't throw it out, but there's no way he'd be stupid enough to keep it. Natasha didn't. I tried calling her a few hours after Civil War."

"Steve wasn't a Russian spy." Pepper pointed out.

"If they had a child together, she would've made him get rid of it." He muttered.

I gave the genius a confused look. He sounded like he was pleading with Pepper.

"Wait, hold up. Are you _scared_ to call him?" I exclaimed.

"What?! Of course not, I just don't want to—"

"Want to what?" I looked him in the eye. "What could we possibly have to lose?"

He didn't have an answer.

"Then it's settled." Pepper stood up. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., where is the burner phone?"

No answer.

She whipped her head around to look at Tony. "Seriously? You told her not to answer me if I asked about the burner phone?! I swear to god Anthony—"

"Shhhhh." Tony put a finger to his lips and stood up, eyes wide and looking around the room wildly.

"Di you just shush me?!"

"Pepper be quiet for a second." He paused as he went to the AI's control panel beside the fridge. "F.R.I.D.A.Y, you there?"

More silence.

Tony swore under his breath. "Were already too late. New plan. You" ( _he pointed to Pepper)_ "Go get the burner phone. It's in the pocket of my dress pants in the closet. Meet us in the workshop. You," ( _he pointed to me)_ "Go down that hallway and down the stairs. The doors will be unlocked since F.R.I.D.A. Y's down. I'll meet you there, but first I need to make a call." Without caring to elaborate, the two adults left the room, leaving me alone.

I couldn't believe it. They'd managed to outwit the smartest man alive. How am I supposed to escape them?

My mother's words ran through my head. With all happened in the last few hours, I hadn't even had a chance to ask about her, if the news stations said anything about her.

 _No matter how hopeless it seems, there's always a way out of everything_

Taking a deep breath, I followed the billionaire's instructions. I ended up in what used to be his workshop.

 _Keywords:_ Used to be.

Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, save for the glass desk in the corner. Th shop was covered with tools and machines I could neve begin to understand.

That wasn't what caught my attention.

Along the back wall, there were the very objects that made Tony Stark a superhero.

The Iron Man suits.

There were about twenty of them; some looking brand new (save for the dust), and others looking like they've seen better days.

I slowly walked up to one, not believing I was actually looking at a superhero's suit.

One quick touch couldn't hurt, right?

* * *

Tony was pacing as he waited for the kid to pick up the phone.

He looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows again, cursing. Even though it was hard to make out people so far down, the line of police and SWAT vehicles was evidently parked in front of the tower.

All this for a little girl. Even Wanda didn't warrant this much attention.

 _Wanda was not the daughter of the two most wanted people in the world._

" _Hello?"_ Tony was snapped out of his thoughts when the kid finally answered.

"Hey, I need you at the tower immediately. It's an emergency."

" _Mr. Stark, I would love to, but tonight's Aunt May's birthday, and I missed the one last year because of the whole thing with Vulture and—"_

"Peter, if you aren't here in a few minutes, an innocent girl might die."

Peter was silent for a few seconds. " _I'll be there in about 5 minute, we're already in Manhattan."_

"Come to the workshop. If there's a police line, just ignore it. Do whatever you can to get into the workshop."

" _Police line? Mr. Stark will I go to jail if I—"_ Tony hung up before he could continue.

He ran to his workshop, hoping that the girl hadn't killed herself with the equipment.

When he got to the gigantic room, however, he was met with a much worse sight.

She was about to touch his suit.

 _His_ iron man suit.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted, making the teenager jump and turned around in a fighting stance. "Hands off shorty!"

She surprisingly ignored his insult. "When was the last time you used one of these?" She asked, turning back around to look at the suit. He walked up to her and pulled her back a few feet.

"A long time. Do I look young enough to fly around the city?" He admitted.

She was probably going to ask something else but then Pepper entered the room. "Here." She walked over and handed the phone to Tony, who took it hesitantly. Carter walked over to them.

No one moved for a few seconds.

"Well what are you waiting for? Call him." The girl poked him in the arm.

Tony's finger hovered over the call button. Gathering his courage, he pressed it…

Or he tried to.

Suddenly, the entire building shook violently, making the phone fly out of his hands. He tackled Pepper and the girl to the ground, worried that some bullets would soon fly through the window and injure someone.

No shots came. A few minutes later, Tony hesitantly sat up, wondering what that was about.

Another boom sounded through the building, but not as violent as the first; this one was closer to them, just a few floors down at most.

 _Not a few floors down._ Tony realized with a start. _A few floors above._

They were trying to get into he workshop.

"Fuck." He muttered, running his hands down his face.

"Can't you use one of the suits?" Asked the girl, tapping his shoulder.

He turned to her. "I got the arc reactor removed years ago. There's no power source for them. I could get an evac from the helicopter a few floors down, but not with them shutting F.R.I.D.A.Y down."

The girl's eyes went wide with fear. "So, we're practically sitting ducks." She stated with a tremor in her voice. Pepper placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm the girl.

"You'll be fine." Said Pepper without any hesitation. "We have a friend coming." She looked at Tony, who nodded quickly.

Another tremor shook the building and suddenly footstep coming down the stairs to the workshop.

Not thinking, Tony looked around the now disastrous workshop for the old flip phone. Spotting it a few meters away, he ran to grab it.

When he picked it up from the ground and shoved it in his pocket, something zoomed past his ear, shattering the window in front of him.

A bullet.

He froze, not daring to move.

He heard someone walking up behind him and placed the barrel of a gun on his back.

"Stand up." A gruff voice said. Tony obeyed and stood up, keeping both his hands in his pockets. "Turn." Tony slowly turned to face the center of the room.

There were about 15 people now; two were holding the girl by her arms, and another was holding a gun to the side of Pepper's head.

Tony started to panic, but he couldn't let it show. He decided to use his most successful stalling technique.

"You know I can sue you right? I can send all of your lazy asses to jail and—"

"—that won't be necessary, Mr. Stark." A familiar voice said.

A blond man walked out from behind Tony, the gun now aimed at his abdomen. "You're housing a known fugitive. No amount of money will get you free this time."

Tony scoffed. "You'd be surprised." Instead of answering, the man just raised the gun to Tony's temple.

"Tell me where your parents are, inhuman, or he dies." He pressed the barrel harder against Tony's head.

"The clock's ticking. Might want to make your choice soon." He flashed Tony a smile.

* * *

This can't be happening.

The man who I last saw threatening my mom was now here, threatening another human being because of me.

"Please, I don't know anything. Thy hid me for a reason. I didn't even know who they were a few days ago. Let him go."

"Liar. Do you really want another person to die because of you?"

"Another? Who else did you—"

The news hit me like a semi-ton truck.

 _My mother._

"You're lying." I managed to get out, but it was just a whisper. It couldn't be true.

"What would be the point in lying, inhuman?" He smiled at me. The bastard actually _smiled_ at me. "I would have more leverage if I kept her alive."

 _Crash!_ Something came through the window and the guards let go of me, but I barely noticed. I sank to my knees, trying to keep it together.

It didn't work; I was oblivious to everything going on around me.

 _Nothing even mattered anymore._

* * *

Tony was expecting Peter to make an entrance soon, but soon might be too late the way things were heading.

"What would be the point in lying, inhuman? I would have more leverage if I kept her alive."

Tony saw himself in the girl's emotions, when he found out his Mother wasn't coming home, ever.

Then with the sound of glass shattering, a distraction arrived.

Acting on instinct, Tony dove out of the way as that asshole tried to shoot him but missed completely. He could hear Peter fighting, but he wasn't worried about the boy; he could handle himself for a few minutes (not like an old man could help him out anyways).

He crawled under his desk, praying Pepper and the girl were okay ( _he tried not to dwell on that thought)._

Letting go of any grudges he might've had for over a decade and swallowing his pride, he pulled out the burner phone and pressed the only contact saved into it.

Tony waited as it rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Finally, he was taken to a voicemail he himself had set up. _You have reached a number that is probably a mistake, so hang up immediately._ A few seconds later he heard a beep. Taking a breath, he began a message.

* * *

"Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled over the commotion, he hadn't seen the genius ever since he first made his entrance, and Peter was starting to get worried.

All the agents (there were 10 of them) were stuck to the walls (and ceiling in one case) thanks to Peter, all unconscious. Miss Potts was fine (Peter told her to go to the saferoom).

He was now kneeling beside the small girl in the middle of the room, trying to get her to say something. She wasn't aware of anything that had happened, she was just on her knees, staring wide-eyed at the floor.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter shouted again. He knew that more agents would soon be on the way, but only god knows why. He really wished Mr. Stark explained the plans more often…

The sound of crunching glass made him stand up and whipped his head around, web shooters pointed at the offender. When he saw who it was, he relaxed. "Mr. Stark, why did you hide under your desk? Also, I don't think this girl is okay."

"That's not important, kid." He walked up to Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Peter, I need you to do something, no questions asked. Promise?"

Peter nodded. "Of course, Mr. Stark."

Tony took a shaky breath. "You need to get her somewhere safe. I don't know where but keep her in the city if can." He paused to grab the burner phone. "Keep this on you. If anyone calls, you have to answer it." He sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"What about you? You haven't used a suit since I've been born, so how are you going to escape?"

Tony didn't answer.

Peter's eyes went wide. "You can't stay here! They'll capture you!"

Suddenly, more footsteps were heard from a few floors down.

"We've run out of time." Muttered Tony. He pulled in Peter for a hug. "Be safe, kid."

Peter nodded solemnly and went to the girl. "What's her name?"

He had refused to even think of it the entire time, knowing that as soon as he acknowledge her name he would regret everything that had happened with civil war.

"Her name's Carter." He heared footsteps right outside the workshop doors. "Now go!"

* * *

I wasn't aware of anything that had just transpired. Nothing mattered. My mother was gone. The only family I had grown up with, gone.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down (or maybe I fainted. I'm not sure to be honest).

I don't know how long I tried to forget everything, but at some point, it felt like I was flying.

 _Maybe I died. Maybe I'll see mom again._

Unfortunately, upon opening my eyes I realized that _no, I was not dead._

I was falling through the streets in Manhattan, the ground coming towards me quickly.

I screamed, wondering how the hell I got into this situation.

Suddenly, someone hit me in the back, and I was heading upwards towards the skyline again. Someone grabbed my hand ( _from above?!)_ and pulled me against them. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down from the near-death experience.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to drop you!" Someone apologized. It sounded like a boy's voice, but I wasn't sure.

"Where are you taking me?" I yelled over the wind racing past me.

"Not sure. Best to get you out of Manhattan, though. It's too dangerous here."

I nodded. Within 15 minutes, we landed at an empty park.

As soon as my feet touched solid ground, I ran for the nearest garbage can, puking up the grill cheese I ate less than an hour ago. I couldn't remember the last time I vomited, if ever.

"You okay?" the boy asked, who was now beside me.

I stood up straight and turned, finally getting a good look at him.

He was in a red costume, with a mask covering his face. "Are you a superhero?" I asked, even though I knew he looked familiar.

"Yeah." He removed his mask, revealing a teenage boy with brown hair behind the persona. "I'm Peter." He held out this hand.

"My name is Carter." I replied, shaking his hand. I looked around the vacant park. "What are we supposed to do now?"

He shrugged. "Mr. Stark didn't have anytime to explain, all I know is that we need to wait for a phone call. I don't know who it is we're waiting for, but—"

"—We're waiting for my parents to call." I interrupted.

He gave me a confused glance as he took the flip phone out of his pocket. "Why would you need a burner phone to contact your parents?"

I took a shaky breath. Saying their names out loud would make this seem all too real.

"Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers." I whispered too quietly for most people to hear.

The shocked expression on Peter's face told me that he heard the answer just fine

* * *

 _Took long enough._ Thought Tony as someone finally walked into the cell.

"I'm Colonel Walters. And you are Tony Stark. Self-proclaimed playboy, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist." The blond-haired man sighed. "You used to be my hero."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I used to be a lot of things."

He had been in the small windowless room for around two hours, handcuffed to the table in the center of the room. He had a pounding headache, likely due to the fact that they tasered him. He, _Anthony Edward Stark,_ taken down by a mere taser.

"Let's not dance around the issue, Mr. Stark." The man sat across from him at the table, placing a gun in front of Tony. (too bad he was handcuffed, or he would've shot the man right then and there).

"If you refuse to cooperate, I hope you understand that I will be forced to shoot you. Do you understand?"

Tony nodded, trying not to react.

"First question." Colonel Walters clasped his hands on the desk. "Who is Spider-man?"

Tony sighed very loudly. "You think I'm going to tell you that, just so you can kill his parents unless he complies with you? Might as well kill me right now."

"We can just get the information off that AI of yours, but it would be less of a hassle if you just told us."

"One, her name is F.R.I.D.A.Y, and two, if someone succeeds in hacking her, she immediately destroys her own code. I did it after the whole Ultron fiasco years ago. You can't find him."

Walters slammed his hands down on the table, startling Tony. "Do you not realize you're at my mercy right now?! I don't have any qualms about killing you, I already killed the mutant's guardian, and just because you're Tony Stark doesn't make you untouchable." The colonel took a deep breath and flashed the billionaire a cold smile. "How about I ask you an easier question? Since you obviously care about that spider-thing, why don't you tell me where Carter went? You can get back at Captain America after he wronged you so many years ago."

"You clearly don't know a thing about me, Walters." Tony said with an annoyed voice. I'm not petty enough to hurt someone without reason, and I'm sure Steve has always regret what he had done to me. Even if I did want to turn him in, I wouldn't put that innocent girl's life in danger.

"She's not innocent!" Yelled, Walters, standing up and grabbing the gun off the table. H pointed it directly over the scar where the arc-reactor used to be. "You have about 5 seconds to tell me any information before I kill you."

Tony looked him straight in the eye. " _Fuck you."_

As the colonel squeezed the trigger, Tony smiled.

 _I've finally paid off my debt to you, Rogers._ A bang later and Tony was closing his eyes, feeling very tired. _See you on the other side._

* * *

Walters didn't move until the last bit of life left the eyes of Tony Stark.

He stood up swiftly and opened the door with his key card. There were two guards standing outside of the room, who were looking at him with a shocked expression.

"What are you just standing there for? Go clean it up." He snapped as he walked towards the board room.

He just killed the man he looked up to for years. In the battle of New York, Tony Stark had saved the him and his entire family from the chitauri.

For the first time in years, Walters felt his eyes water.

 _Stop it._ He thought as he desperately wiped at them. _It's not your fault…_

It's the girl's.

The sadness turned to anger as he quickened his pace to the board room.

I'm going to make her suffer. _She made me kill my hero._

* * *

 **As Thanos once said, "No resurrections this time."**

 **I'm sorry. I was crying when I killed him off. Please forgive me.**

 **Sorry if the death seemed rush; if I put in too much emotion I wouldn't have the heart to post it.**

 **Hoped you liked seeing Peter in this! As you can see, the whole MCU timeline is messed up in this AU (first Daredevil, now this. I'm really bad at following canon). He's about 17 in this.**

 **P.P.S. Exams are coming up in a little more than two weeks, so don't expect any updates within that time; after that I'm on summer vacation.**

 **P.S. If it makes you feel any better, Tony would be well into his 60s in this chapter, so he didn't die THAT young…**

 **Sorry. I'm just trying to make myself feel better.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review about your thoughts for this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: We're nearing the end here, folks. Thanks for reading this far, it means so much to me!**

 **For once we're getting right to the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha woke up before the sun, around 3:00 in the morning. She'd gotten a whole two hours of sleep.

She was surprised she got any sleep at all, considering how shitty she felt.

She rolled off the bed and went to the washroom to shower. Might as well start the day.

Today they would go to Stark Tower, fugitives or not. Tony and Steve had to swallow their pride and get over whatever issues thy had, anyways. It had been _years._

Funny how life could throw a curveball at you even when it seemed that it couldn't get any worse.

She walked out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. The lights were still off in the main room; Steve must still be sleeping.

She silently went to put her dirty clothes in her backpack when she spotted a blue light flashing out of the corner of her eye.

She turned and saw it was coming from the side pocket of Steve's bag. Without hesitation, she dove for it, thinking it to be a bug. If it was, they were screwed.

Upon gabbing it, however, she realized it was an old flip phone. Sighing in relief, she leaned against the wall and opened it, wondering why it was flashing.

 _One new voicemail_

Her heart skipped a beat. Only one person had this number.

Tony.

Why would he call for the first time in almost 20 years?

She knew the answer. She just couldn't believe it.

"Steve." She whispered, not trusting her voice. No answer, just his steady breathing in the bed.

"Steve." She said louder. She heard blankets rustle and saw his silhouette sit up in the darkness. "Nat? What's wrong?"

"Come here."

He turned on the lamp and gave her a confused look. "Why are you on the floor? Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Come here." She repeated.

He worriedly got up and sat beside her, finally noticing what she was holding in her hand.

"Why do you have the burner phone? What's going on?"

"Someone left you a message."

"Someone? Only one person has this number and—"

"I know." She interrupted, taking a shaky breath. "And we know what it's about."

His eyes got wide. "Carter?"

She didn't answer and flipped open the phone, the same message still on the screen.

 _One new voicemail_

Hands shaking, she clicked on it, and a familiar (yet older-sounding) voice filled the room.

" _I can't believe I'm doing this. Okay, first off, I'm sorry to the both of you. I should've made sure you were safe, no matter our different beliefs. When everyone escaped from the raft, you don't understand how relieved I was._

There was so much background noise. It sounded like a fight. Natasha gave Steve a worried look but his attention was solely focused on the phone.

" _You know how I am. Even when I know I'm wrong, I won't admit it. I'll still feel guilty, but I would rather die than apologize."_

" _18 years, Rogers. Eighteen. Even if we would always butt heads, you were still one of my closest friends, and having no contact killed me."_

" _I fucked up, Steve. Badly. When your daughter showed up today—"_ Natasha' heart skipped a beat. _"—My first instinct was to turn her in. I didn't want to end up like you, on the run."_

" _But I had been wrong before. I thought we were enemies during our last fight. When you raised your shield above me, I thought you were actually going to kill me. I thought that much had changed in a matter of days."_

" _Long story short, I owed you. So, instead of calling the police I let her stay under my protection, making me a fugitive as well."_

" _I hated her. She may have had Romanoff's build, but her eyes, Cap, it was like seeing you again. It was like you were trying to get back at me for ruining your life all those years ago."_

" _And now you may never see her. It's bad, Cap. They showed up with a whole team. They want to use her to get to you."_

" _I got some help from a friend. He can get her out of here without them following, but I'm done for."_

" _You'll be able to call her on this phone. She'll be able to escape, but it's the end of the line for me."_ There was a chuckle on the end of the phone. " _She reminds me of you, Romanoff. Determined." Tony stopped for a moment. Someone in the background was calling for him._

" _I doubt you're going to hear from me again. Do me a favour and don't let the girl die, alright? It would suck if they took me in for nothing."_

" _I hope this means we're even, Cap."_

With that, the voicemail ended, leaving two stunned heroes staring blankly at the phone.

After a few minutes Natasha hesitantly picked it up and pressed a few buttons on it.

"What're you doing?" Asked Steve, still in shock over the billionaire's message. Would they really take in Tony Stark of all people?

"You heard what he said." Answered Natasha as she held the phone up to her ear. "He gave her the burner phone."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's not: My plan was to spend all summer inside a nice, air-conditioned house writing, but unfortunately life happens. Not only that but writer's block is a bitch.**

 **Also, my laptop glitched and deleted the first half of this chapter?! It took me forever to find the energy to rewrite it.**

 **It's not that long, but I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

When she heard a knock on the door, May Parker didn't know whether to be relieved or angry.

She wasn't mad because he had to leave early; whenever her nephew did that it was always for the greater good.

No, what made her mad was that he just left an ominous text about an hour ago.

 _ **Peter:**_ _Get back to the apartment as fast as you can. There's something important. Make sure you watch your back._

She tried to call him back (several times), but no answer came from her nephew, her phone stayed quiet.

May shot up from her spot on the couch when she heard the front door to the apartment open. She turned the corner, ready to yell at her nephew.

"I swear to God Peter you better have a good excuse or so help me—" May stopped mid sentence, staring at her nephew.

Or rather the young girl beside him.

She didn't look older than fourteen, being shorter than five feet tall. Her eyes looked glassy, not even acknowledging May. Her arm was slung around Peter's shoulder and it looked like he was supporting most of her bodyweight… _and was that blood all over her hands?_

May looked at her nephew, eyes wide with worry. "What happened?"

"I'll explain soon. Can you help her get cleaned up?" May nodded and walked towards her nephew and the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. _(After finding out your nephew is Spider-Man, one of the unsaid rules around the Parker's household became help now, ask questions later)_

"Let's go, girl." The teenager looked at May like she just noticed she was there. She nodded, and May lead her to her bedroom.

"You can sit on my bed while I go get a first aid kit, okay sweetie?" May didn't expect an answer from the girl but she did.

"I'm fine. Everything's healed. No need for one." Her voice seemed hollow, without emotion.

May gave her a quizzical look, but decided not to question the small girl any further.

She looked in silence for a shirt that would fit the girl, finally deciding on an old blue t-shirt that was tight on May. (it would still be too big for the girl, but it would have to do). She gathered a pair of soccer shorts in her hands before going to her door.

"C'mon, the bathroom is down the hall." The girl nodded and followed May to the washroom.

The girl mumbled a thank-you and went into the washroom, the door closing with a click.

May immediately went to find Peter, wanting an explanation for this girl who seemed to be in shock. She found him leaning on the kitchen counter, munching o

"Okay, what is going on?" May put her hands on her hips. "Tony Stark calls you, you go missing for or an hour, only texting me three sentences, which made me even more worried. Finally, you come home bringing a girl who is probably in shock, blood stained hands. Start talking now, Peter Benjamin Parker or so help me _God—"_

"—Her name is Carter." Peter interrupted his aunt before she could go on. "And you'd never believe who her parents are."

* * *

I looked down at my hands after having washed them off. I must've cut them on the shards of glass that had littered the floor, but I couldn't even remember them hurting. The skin of my palms were bright pink; the only remnants of them ever being injured.

I looked at myself in the mirror over the vanity. My hair was still wet from the shower I took not even four hours prior. God, so much had happened in four hours.

"Stop it." I told myself, running my hands down my face. I hadn't felt like crying since finding out about my mother, but now the tear wouldn't stop coming.

One might've thought that discovering she didn't give birth to me might've made it slightly easier to process, but that was not the case. If anything, it made it worse since I didn't have anything to remember her by; no pictures, not even features I inherited from her.

Trying to think of something else, _anything else,_ I changed out of my clothes and put on the stuff that Spiderman's (I forgot as his name was) mom got for me. It was multiple size too big, but I could just change back later, since my clothes weren't too dirty.

* * *

 _Poor thing._ Thought May as she walked to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Carter was sleeping on the couch, which May found surprising that the teenager was able to, considering what she had been through.

May could relate to losing someone she cared about, but at least she hadn't lot everything in the process.

Seeing that the blanket had fallen off the girl in the night and onto the floor, May went to tuck her in again when she heard a buzzing sound.

It wasn't easy to locate the cause of the noise in the pitch black, but May managed to find the source within a moment.

She picked up the flip-phone that was close to vibrating right off the coffee table it was on.

May was about to answer the phone but hesitated suddenly. A scene from earlier today replayed over again in her head.

" _If you let me stay here, it's a huge risk for both of you." Carter said, taking a small sip from the hot cocoa May had made._

 _Peter ha just shrugged. "I'm spider-man. I'm used to taking risks." To his credit, he didn't sound worried at all, but May knew her nephew better than that; he was going through worse case scenarios in his head since he walked in the door._

" _You don't understand. You're dealing with the most wanted criminals in the entire world. This will have major repercussions on both your lives."_

" _You're staying for the night." May had said firmly, placing a hand on Carter's shoulder gently._

The phone buzzing in May's hand brought her back to the present.

If May picked up the phone, there really was no going back. She would be helping known fugitives.

She so badly wanted to ignore the call. Her number one priority is and always will be Peter. Doing this would put his safety in jeopardy.

 _But wasn't his safety already in jeparody?_ Argued May with herself. _They'll find a way to track Spider-Man. Hell, didn't she hear a rumour about how the government had facial recognition technology?_

Praying to God that she wasn't making a huge mistake, May answered the phone.

"Hello?"

* * *

"We have traced a phone call to a hotel in Manhattan, sir."

The colonel smiled. They were so close to catching them.

"Get into the hotel's security systems. I want to be able to track them." The colonel paused before continuing. "Do you know where the receiving end of the call is?"

The woman who delivered the message shook her head. "Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the location where the call was received. We believed that it has to do with Stark Technology."

Walter's shook his head, not able to stop from smiling. "No matter. We have them in our sight."

This was _definitely_ worth being up for 29 hours straight.

* * *

 **I apologize for this filler chapter. I had no plans originally to put Peter in this story, but Infinity War made him my favourite character, so that made this story take a 180 I wasn't read for.**

 **This chapter was a pain in the ass to write, so it would mean a lot to me if you reviewed with your theories for next chapter's reunion!**

 **(Yes, the reunion you've been waiting for this entire time!)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note: MY WRITER'S BLOCK IS CURED! I REPEAT, MY WRITER'S BLOCK I CURED!**

 **LET' GET THIS REUNION ON THE ROAD PEOPLE!**

* * *

I was shaking as I put on the black sweater that was four sizes too big for me.

 _How do you meet your parents that you didn't even know existed a week ago? Not only that, but they were the people you looked up to as a kid, your hero._

Thoughts kept running through my head as I did up my boots. _Would it be awkward (after all, they were complete strangers) or would it be like that Disney movie where the king and queen didnt even question that it was their daughter before going in for the hug?_

 _Yeah right, Carter._ This isn't some movie where everyone goes home happy and my mom doesn't magically come back to life because of some alien magic **(A/N** _ **I had to do that).**_ This is real life.

"Carter?" Someone knocked on the bathroom door. "We have to go now." It was Peter's voice. I finished tying up my boot before opening the door.

"You ready?" He asked. I nodded, feeling too nervous to say anything else, my heart hammering so hard I was afraid it would burst out of my chest.

My life was about to get more fucked up then it already was.

* * *

May Parker hadn't woken me up when she answered the burner phone, and in a way I'm happy she didn't; I don't think I would've been able to make words come out of my mouth.

They told her that they had to act as quickly as possible, before they could trace the phone call. May agreed and they told her what to do.

Within an hour, Peter and I were ready to leave to go find Captain America and the Black Widow.

My parents.

* * *

When we reached the lobby of the Parker's apartment building, Peter stopped. I turned and gave him a confused look. "What are you doing?"

"I can't go with you as Peter Parker, there's a good chance they don't know my identity yet. I'll trail you from the rooftops. If there's anything that looks suspicious I'll let you know." I nodded in agreement and watched him run back up the stairs

* * *

The last time I was out in the middle of the night in New York, I got stabbed.

I really hope I don't have a repeat.

I stuck to the busy streets; even if there were likely more cameras, it was much safer. Even if I could take care of myself, it would have been stupid for a girl under 5 feet to be travelling around the Big Apple at night.

Gradually, the crowds thinned out and except for the homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk, I was alone. I looked up to make sure the Spiderman was still following. Sure enough, there was a figure travelling between buildings, almost invisible he was moving so fast.

Eventually, buildings gave way to trees, and sidewalks became paths as I entered one of Brooklyn's most popular tourist attractions; Prospect Park.

When I entered the park, Peter dropped down beside me. "I'm guessing you have no clue where it was, right?"

I shook my head. They removed the statue before I was even born.

"How do you know where it is, anyways?" I asked. If I wasn't born, he _definitely_ wasn't either.

The teen just shrugged. "Everyone in Brooklyn knows where he was. People still pay their respects." Without another word he started swinging through the trees again, leaving me to run after him in the dark.

Finally, we arrived at our destination.

Right before the Sokovian accords, Brooklyn put up a statue commemorating one of the world's most famous heroes; Steve Rogers.

Obviously, as soon as Captain America became a criminal they took it down. However, that didn't stop people from covering the now empty pedestal in cheesy stuff like _"He's not the criminal, YOU are"_ and _"We believe in you Cap!"_

I took a deep breath and ran my hand over the worn stone.

I would be meeting my parents soon. My heart handn't stopped racing since May woke me up over an hour ago.

"Hey, are you okay?" Asked Peter, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged him off. "Yeah, I'm fine." I suddenly went perfectly still, hearing something in the dark.

"Did you hear that?" I whipped my head around, squinting my eyes so I could see what the sound was.

Petr shook his head. "Hear wha—" without bothering to finish his sentence, he pushed me to the ground just as a shot rang out in the park. I looked up to see a lone police officer aiming at us, almost invisible under the shadows cast by the trees. _There's going to be more coming_. I thought with a sinking feeling.

He rolled off of me and jumped up, ready to fight off the attack, but before he could even use his web shooters, the man keeled over, faceplanting on the path.

I was looking around wildly. I didn't hear another shot. What just happened?

"Ummmm… Carter?" Peter whispered, poking me in my side. I looked to see his shocked expression looking at the direction the man had fallen.

I whipped my head around in time to see someone dressed in black walking towards us. I got into a fighting stance, making sure I wouldn't go down without a fight.

But when the figure stepped out into the moonlight, I could make out more features…

Including the striking blue eyes of the bearded man.

* * *

Time was moving in slow motion.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered. I wasn't thinking about the evil man, Tony, or even my mother.

I was just staring at this man, wondering if he could really be my father; the super hero I grew up hearing fantastic tales about, the man who had saved countless lives, the man out of time.

Why would he want to meet me, his completely regular daughter who hasn't done one worthwhile thing in his life.

I felt like crying; he had stopped moving too, just staring at me. This was a mistake. I shouldn't be here.

What was I supposed to do? Should I hug him? No, I can't just _hug_ Captain America…

He walked up to me slowly, shock the only emotion I could see on his face.

He stopped walking when he was about two feet "Carter?" He said it slowly, more of a question then a statement.

I felt my eyes water as I nodded slowly.

Without wasting another second, he bent over enveloped me in a hug. It took me a few seconds until I returned it, wrapping my arms around his waist (how was I so short if I was descended from someone so tall?).

I don't know how long we were standing there in the park for until we parted. I looked up at his face, seeing similarities between us.

He had a sad smile and tears running down his face when he rubbed the top of my head, messing up my hair.

"I can't believe how tall you've grown, Carter."

 _Wow, Tangled did get that family reunion right._

* * *

"What do you mean she got away?" Walters swiped all the things off the hacker's desk, making the poor woman flinch.

"I'm sorry sir, but the Captain wasn't with her. And the Black Widow is very hard to keep in our sights. We were following her even after we realized Rogers wasn't with her, but she had hidden for almost 20 years before the girl resurfaced—"

"Did I ask for an _excuse_?" Snapped Walters. "If you don't figure out how to find them again in the next three hours I swear I'll—"

"Excuse me sir?" A young agent was at the door to the office with frightened look on his face, but continued. "I think I have some good news."

* * *

 **TWO MORE CHAPTERS AND AN EPILOGUE TO GO! I'M SO HAPPY THAT WRITER'S BLOCK IS GONE!**

 **That was so cringey. I'm so sorry. I rewrote this so many times with Natasha there too, but they wouldn't be that stupid, she's a spy, for goodness sakes! And honestly, we all know Steve would've been awkward, and Carter definitely gets that trait from him.**

 **A quick thank you to everyone that has ever reviewed, especially M, Hufflepuff gal 4520, and Lone Wolf O'neill. Without your support, I would have given up on this story a long time ago.**

 **And thank you for every person who has favourited and followed! Every time that happens, I get an email and it's the highlight of my day! You guys are the best!**

 **(Also I think I'm going to start one of those generic "OC finds them self stuck in the marvel universe" type fic, but with a small twist? Please let me know if you'd be interested!)**

 **Next chapter should be up in about two weeks!**


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